Comparative osteology based on premaxillary bone of Sciaenid fishes found in Indian waters: I

Abstract

Present study consists the morphological characters of premaxillary bones of six genera and twelve species of the family Sciaenidae to provide a baseline to compare with other genera of the family and also to validate the taxa assigned to the genus which could be useful to make inferences about the phylogeny of the family. Morphometric measurement of premaxillary bone were measured the length of the lower margin of the horizontal part of the premaxillary (L), length of the vertical part of the premaxillary along the ascending process (M) and length from anterior corner of the premaxillary process to posterior tip of the horizontal part of the premaxillary (N).Inter- and intra-specific relationships between these species were also evaluated using multivariate analysis, standard discriminante function analysis and cluster analysis. Premaxillary along the ascending process (M) and length from anterior corner of the premaxillary process to posterior tip of the horizontal part of the premaxillary (N).