Discriminant analysis as a tool to identify catfish (Ariidae) species of the excavated archaeological otoliths

Weizhong Chen, Mohsen Al-Husaini, Mark Beech, Khlood Al-Enezi, Sara Rajab, Hanan Husain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Catfish otoliths excavated from two archaeological sites in Kuwait, Sabiyah (ca. 7000 Years Before Present) and Al-Khidr, ca. 4000 YBP, were compared with those of Kuwait's modern catfish. Otoliths from Kuwait's four species of catfish, Netuma bilineata, N. thalassina, Plicofollis dussumieri, and P. tenuispinis were collected after recording total length and weight. Data recorded for both ancient and modern otoliths, including annual ring (age), weight, length and four otolith radii from transverse sections, were subject to discriminant analysis to differentiate among species and develop classification functions for otoliths. Comparisons of the results from the ancient and modern otoliths showed that most of the excavated otoliths (78% from Sabiyah and 100% from Al-Khidr) belong to the two presently dominate species N. bilineata and P. tenuispinis, indicating that ichthyofauna of Kuwait Bay may not have changed much in the past 7000 years.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)287-299
Number of pages13
JournalEnvironmental Biology of Fishes
Volume90
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

Keywords

  • Catfish
  • Discriminant analysis
  • Otolith
  • Species identification

Funding Agency

  • Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

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