Otolith Morphological Study of Labridae Fishes of Taiwan

Otolith morphology of fishes is species-specific and can be used to reflect the external morphology and the ecological niche of fish. The Labridae, with 34 genus and 138 species in Taiwan, are common coral reef fishes of diversified external morphology and ecological niches. A preliminary otolith morphological comparison of 24 genus and 65 labrid fishes indicated that their otoliths are mostly elliptic or oval in shape, with a roundness of 0.54±0.08, rectangularity 0.70±0.03 and ellipticity 0.25±0.06. The rostrum of otolith was poorly developed and the sulcus was heterosulcoid. Among them, otoliths of Xyrichtys and Iniistius were rounded in shape, with a significant difference in roundness and ellipticity from other labrid otoliths (Xyrichtys: 0.86 and 0.01; Iniistius: 0.81 and 0.01). The relationship between otolith characters and ecomorphological trends is addressed.