Morphometric and meristic differentiation among five populations of Delminichthys ghetaldii (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from five karst fields in Eastern Herzegovina

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The primary objectives of this study were to advance our understanding of the morphological intricacies exhibited by the endemic fish species, Delminichthys ghetaldii, commonly known as the Trebinje minnow, and to determine intraspecific morphological variability. The study involved the examination of 76 mature specimens collected from five distinct karst fields located within the Dinaric region of Eastern Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since the year 2018. A comprehensive analysis of 22 morphometric and 8 meristic characters was conducted to unravel the underlying patterns of variation. Discriminant Function Analysis was employed for the thorough investigation of morphometric traits, whereas Canonical Correspondence Analysis was applied to scrutinize the meristic traits. The Discriminant Function Analysis yielded noteworthy outcomes, revealing substantial differentiations across 17 morphological characters within samples from diverse karst fields. Furthermore, it elucidated notable dissimilarities in four specific morphometric characters when examining pooled data from both male and female specimens. Remarkably, these analyses unveiled that Delminichthys ghetaldii specimens inhabiting the Popovo Karst Field exhibit significant morphological disparities compared to those in all other fields. Conversely, individuals from the Fatnicko Karst Field manifested a pronounced morphological affinity with their counterparts from the Mokro Karst Field. Intriguingly, a semblance in morphometric characters was noted between Delminichthys ghetaldii inhabitants of the Dabarsko Karst Field and those from the Ljubomirsko Karst Field. The assessment of osteological meristic characters across samples derived from the five distinct karst fields, as well as the differentiation between male and female specimens did not reveal any statistically significant distinctions.

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