Elucidating the Identity of Rasbora notura-paviana-vulgaris Species-Complex in Peninsular Malaysia Through Geometric Morphometric
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/mjfas.v21n4.3942Keywords:
Cryptic species, landmark-based, interspecific group, Rasbora, SundalandAbstract
The sumatrana-elegans species-group in Peninsular Malaysia is a subject of interest due to their history of intricating and interchanging taxonomy. In Peninsular Malaysia, three species and two body forms within the sumatrana-elegans species-group was identified to form a unique species-complex collectively referred to as ‘Rasbora notura-paviana-vulgaris’. Geometric morphometric was applied to elucidate the identity of the species-complex, and indicated that the species-complex is statistically similar. Presence of one species with geographical polymorphisms may exist within the species-complex but the actual identity of some species cannot be fully determined. Hence, this study suggested that geometric morphometric need to correlates with other biological fields to obtain a more conclusive outcome. This could provide researchers with more reliable evidence on elucidating identity of cryptic species-complexes for future studies.
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