Otolith morphology of Nemipterus virgatus and its relation to body length and mass in continental shelf of northern South China Sea

We studied the otolith length, width, perimeter and other morphological parameters of 106 samples of Nemipterus virgatus collected from the continental shelf of northern South China Sea during August, 2014 to February, 2015. Results show no significant difference between female and male in otolith morphological characteristics (P>0.05). There was significant difference between left and right otolith in otolith width, area and ratio of length-width (P<0.05), but no significant difference in otolith length, maximum radius, minimum radius, perimeter, area of minimum circumscribed rectangle and ratio of radius (P>0.05). According to principal component analysis, the otolith length, width, maximum radius, minimum radius, perimeter, area, area of minimum circumscribed rectangle and ratio of radius were the main morphological indicators of N. virgatus otolith. The relationship among main otolith morphological characteristics and body length and body mass was fitted optimally by polynomial function.