Cytochrome b 유전자를 이용한 여을멸 유생의 동정

Abstract

A single specimen of Albula leptocephalus (55.7 mm SL) was collected from the northern coastal waters of Jeju Island, Korea using an aquatic lamp. It is characterized by having a ribbon-like body with a small head and a well-forked caudal fin. The general appearance is similar to the leptocephalus of A. vulpes including myomere counts and fin ray counts, but the melanophore deposition has a different pattern to compare with that of A. vulpes. This leptocephalus specimen was confirmed with A. forsteri using the cytochrome b mtDNA (Ctyb) analysis. The genetic distance of Ctyb is 1~4% between the present leptocephalus specimen and A. forsteri that is fall into the cutoff point (5.6 %; Colbron et al., 2001) separating Albula species into the eight deep lineages including the four valid species. Its genetic characteristic has more similar to that of Fiji than those of Hawaii and the Northern Territory of Australia.