Species specificity and sexual dimorphism in tooth shape among the three sympatric haplochromine species in Lake Kivu cichlids

Tooth shape is used to differentiate between morphologically similar species of vertebrates, including fish. This study aimed to quantify tooth shape of three sympatric species: Haplochromis kamiranzovu, H. insidiae, and H. astatodon endemic to Lake Kivu, whose existing identification criteria are c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology and evolution 2020-06, Vol.10 (12), p.5694-5711
Main Authors: Munyandamutsa, Philippe, Jere, Wilson Lazaro, Kassam, Daud, Mtethiwa, Austin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic habitats
Cichlids
Cusps
elliptic fourier analysis
Enamel
Fish
Food availability
Food resources
Foraging habitats
Fourier analysis
Gender
Habitats
Haplochromis
Haplochromis astatodon
Haplochromis insidiae
Haplochromis kamiranzovu
Hypotheses
Lake Kivu
Lakes
Levels
Littoral environments
Littoral zone
Morphology
Original Research
Populations
Qualitative analysis
Salmon
Sexual dimorphism
Species
Sympatric populations
Taxonomy
Teeth
tooth shape
Vertebrates
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Tooth shape is used to differentiate between morphologically similar species of vertebrates, including fish. This study aimed to quantify tooth shape of three sympatric species: Haplochromis kamiranzovu, H. insidiae, and H. astatodon endemic to Lake Kivu, whose existing identification criteria are currently only qualitative. A quantitative tooth shape analysis was performed based on digitized tooth outline data with a subsequent elliptic Fourier analysis to test for differences among the three species. We looked at crown shape and size differences within H. kamiranzovu and H. insidiae at geographical, habitat, and gender levels. No comparison at habitat level was done for H. astatodon because it is found only in littoral zone. The analysis revealed significant tooth shape differences among the three species. Haplochromis astatodon had a significantly longer major cusp height and a longer and larger minor cusp than that of H. insidiae. It had also a longer major cusp height and a longer and larger minor cusp than that of H. kamiranzovu. Tooth shape differences of H. kamiranzovu and H. insidiae species were not significantly different between littoral and pelagic fish (p > .05) while differences were significant between southern and northern Lake Kivu populations (p 
ISSN:2045-7758
2045-7758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.6309