Morphological variations of epaulette soldierfish, Myripristis kuntee in Tuka Bay, Kiamba, Sarangani Province

Abstract

Kiamba, Sarangani Province is one of the tourist spots in Mindanao because of its bountiful marine resources which contribute to the economic aspects of the place. Because of the indisputable abundance of its marine resources, there are many species that are still unidentified due to the differences in their features. One of the marine species is the Myripristis kuntee or the ‘baga” fish. The researchers used net fishing technique in gathering the specimen samples, took pictures of the specimen and spot the differences in the specimen. In this study, the researchers analysed the morphological variation of Mypristis kuntee in order to determine the difference between the male and female types in terms of its shape and form. The MANOVA shows result of p=1 which indicates that there is no significant difference between the male and female M.kuntee. Hence, the overall result shows that the female specimen appears to have more curvature in their posterior margin through midline with a total RW: 80.76% compared to the male specimen with a total RW: 80.71%. In line with this, the researchers therefore conclude that although there are a lot of species under the family of holocentridae, there are still specific determinants that will distinguish the M. kuntee from the other species