Morphological Distinction and Phenotypic Variance of Mystus (Mystus gulio, M. nigriceps, and M. singaringan) from Java Island, Indonesia: Morphological analysis of three Javanese Mystus (Mystus gulio, M. nigriceps, and M. singaringan)

Ni Putu Anggun Larasati; Elok Amalia; Bintang Rhafsyanjani; Muhammad Dailami; Abd Rahem Faqih; Ating Yuniarti; Wahyu Endra Kusuma

doi:10.26740/jrba.v8n1.p1-17

Authors

Ni Putu Anggun Larasati Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Elok Amalia Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Bintang Rhafsyanjani Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Muhammad Dailami Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Abd Rahem Faqih Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Ating Yuniarti Study Program of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Wahyu Endra Kusuma Universitas Brawijaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26740/jrba.v8n1.p1-17

Abstract

Genus Mystus is widely distributed across Indonesia with eleven currently valid species. Three species are confirmed to inhabit Java Island: Mystus gulio, M. nigriceps, and M. singaringan. Due to their similar morphological appearances and relatively subtle diagnostic features, species identification and discrimination between these three species is somewhat challenging. This study evaluates the morphological differentiation of M. gulio, M. nigriceps, and M. singaringan at both interspecific and intraspecific levels using samples collected across Java Island. Morphological data including thirty morphometric and five meristic characters from 143 individuals in sampling sites were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and UPGMA clustering. PCA (75.32% total variance) effectively discriminated the three species, identifying maxillary barbel length and adipose-fin base length as the primary diagnostic characters. Intraspecific analyses revealed high morphological homogeneity across geographic sampling sites; however, significant phenotypic variance was observed, primarily attributed to ontogenetic allometric growth in juveniles and localized environmental plasticity. Despite testing for novel morphometric and meristic markers, this study reinforces the reliability of traditional adipose and barbel proportions as the definitive tools for field identification. These results provide a critical morphological baseline essential for the conservation, germplasm verification, and potential domestication of these indigenous aquatic resources.

Highlighted Finding

1. Maxillary barbels and adipose fins are key diagnostic traits for Javanese Mystus
2. PCA results reveal a unique morphological divergence in the Bogor M. singaringan
3. Findings prioritize M. singaringan for farming and M. nigriceps for conservation

Graphical View

References

Astuti, S. S., Hariati, A. M., Kusuma, W. E., & Wiadnya, D. G. R. (2020). Morphometric asymmetry of Barbodes binotatus (Cyprinidae) collected from Three Different Rivers in Java. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 441(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/441/1/012055

Eschmeyer, W. N. (Ed). (2025). Catalog of Fishes. Accessed through: Catalog of Fishes at: http://research.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/ fishcatmain.asp.

Froese, R. & Pauly, D (Eds). (2025). FishBase. http://fishbase.org/.

Gupta, S. (2014). Morphology, growth pattern, feeding and reproductive biology of Mystus gulio (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) (Siluriformes: Bagridae). International Journal of Aquatic Biology, 4(1), 201–205. https://www.academia.edu/download/34854846/20._IJAB_Review_on_Mystus_gulio.pdf

Hamilton. (1822). An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Constable, Edinburgh, 2(405), 39. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.6897

Hammer, Ø., & Harper, D. A. (2001). Past: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica, 4(1), 1. http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/past/issue1_01.htm

Hee, N. H. (2002). The identity of Mystus nigriceps (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1840), with the description of a new Bagrid catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Southeast Asia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 50(1), 161-168. https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/app/uploads/2017/04/RBZ_501_161-168.pdf

Herawati, E. Y., Paricahya, A. F., Wiratno, E. N., Samuel, P. D., Lestariaji, C., Valina, R., & Khasanah, R. I. (2025). Population genetics analysis of M. gulio in Three Rivers in Pasuruan, East Java using COI. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 29(6), 657-671. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejabf.2025.439184.6934

IBM Corporation. (2026). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. https://www.ibm.com/analytics/spss-statistics-software.

Ikpegbu, E., & Nlebedum, U. C. (2015). The barbels of the adult African catfish from Eastern Nigeria: A micro morphological and functional study. International Journal of Aquaculture, 21(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2159

Ismail, T. G. (2021). Seasonal shape variations, ontogenetic shape changes, and sexual dimorphism in a population of land isopod Porcellionides pruinosus: A geometric morphometric study. The Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology, 82(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41936-021-00209-y

Kirsch, J. E., Day, J. L., Peterson, J. T., & Fullerton, D. K. (2018). Fish misidentification and potential implications to monitoring within the San Francisco Estuary, California. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 9(2), 467–485. https://doi.org/10.3996/032018-JFWM-020

Kottelat, M. (1998). Fishes of the Nam Theum and Xe Bangai Basins, Laos, with diagnosis of twenty-two new species (Teleostei: Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Cobitidae, Coiidae and Odontobutidae). Ichthyol Explor Freshw, 9, 1–128. https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/317766

Kumar, P., Biswas, G., Ghoshal, T. K., Kailasam, M., Christina, L., & Vijayan, K. K. (2019). Current knowledge on the biology, captive breeding and aquaculture of the brackishwater catfish, Mystus gulio (Hamilton, 1822): A review. Aquaculture, 499, 243-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.09.045

Kürzel, K., Kaiser, S., Lörz, A. N., Rossel, S., Paulus, E., Peters, J., & Brix, S. (2025). Correct species identification and its implications for conservation using Haploniscidae (Crustacea, Isopoda) in Icelandic waters as a proxy. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 795196. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.795196

McMenamin, S. K., & Parichy, D. M. (2013). Metamorphosis in teleosts. Current topics in developmental biology, 103, 127-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385979-2.00005-8

Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. (2024). Produksi Perikanan Tangkap Perairan Darat Berdasarkan Tahun (Ton). https://portaldata.kkp.go.id/portals/data-statistik/rtp_tangkap/summary

Muthukrishnan, S., Joseph, P., Reneese, A., & Ronald, J. (2021). Morphometric characters and meristic counts of Catfish, Mystus gulio (Hamilton, 1822) from Maruthur Anicut, Tirunelveli District. Uttar Pradesh Journal of Zoology, 42(24), 123-131. https://mbimph.com/index.php/UPJOZ/article/view/2667

Ng, H. H., & Kottelat, M. (2013). Revision of the asian catfish genus Hemibagrus Bleeker, 1862 (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Bagridae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 61(1), 205–291. https://archive.org/details/raffles-bulletin-zoology-61-205-291/mode/2u

Paul, B., Chanda, A. (2017). A Systematic study on genus Mystus from Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India. Journal of Fisheries & Livestock Production, 5(2), 229. https://doi.org/10.4172/2332-2608.1000229

Pramono, T. B., Arfiati, D. A., Widodo, M. S., & Yanuhar, U. Y. (2017). Identifikasi ikan genus Mystus dengan pendekatan genetik. Jurnal Sumberdaya Akuatik Indopasifik, 1(2), 123-132. https://doi.org/10.30862/jsai-fpik-unipa.2017.vol.1.no.2.34

Pramono, T. B., Arfiati, D., Widodo, M. S., & Yanuhar, U. U. N. (2019). Sexual dimorphism in morphometric characters of Mystus singaringan from Klawing River in Central Java, Indonesia: Strategic instruction for conservation development. Biodiversitas, 20(4), 1133–1139. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d200427

Pramono, T.B., Valen, F. S., Oktaviandi, D., Prayoga, A., Ilmia, M., Purnama, F., Hidayat, R., Amru, T. J., Czech, M., Islamy, R. A., Kamarudin, A. S., & Hasan, V. (2025). First record of Mystus singaringan from Bangka Island, Indonesia: A new insight into its distribution. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 29(3), 2707-2719. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejabf.2025.433795.

Roberts, T. R. (1993). The freshwater fishes of Java, as observed by Kuhl and van Hasselt in 1820-23. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 285(1), 1-94. https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/317766

Rukayah, S., Lestari, W., Nuryanto, A., & Mahmoud, H. H. A. (2025). Growth and exploitation rate of Mystus nigriceps. Biosaintifika, 17(3), 434–441. https://doi.org/10.15294/biosaintifika.v17i3.32684

Rusdianto, R., Haryono, H., Gustiano, R., Wahyudewantoro, G., Hidayatullah, I., & Rahayu, D. A. (2025). Fish biodiversity in the Kampar Watershed: An overview of the potential, threats, and management strategies. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1438(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1438/1/012034

Sabran, M., RT Lembah, R., Wahyudi, W., Baharuddin, H., Trianto, M., & M Suleman, S. (2021). Jenis dan kekerabatan kupu-kupu (Lepidoptera) di Taman Hutan Raya Sulawesi Tengah. Biotropika: Journal of Tropical Biology, 9(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.biotropika.2021.009.01.06

Stewart, T. A., & Hale, M. E. (2013). First description of a musculoskeletal linkage in an adipose fin: Innovations for active control in a primitively passive appendage. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1750), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2159

Syafrialdi, S., Dahelmi, D., Roesma, D. I., & Syandri, H. (2020). Morphometric variations of twospot catfish (Mystus nigriceps) from Kampar Kanan, Kampar Kiri, and Tebo Batang Alai rivers, Indonesia. Aquaculture, Aquarium, Conservation & Legislation, 13(4), 2107-2115. http://www.bioflux.com.ro/aacl

Wilson, A. B., Wegmann, A., Ahnesjö, I., & Gonçalves, J. M. S. (2020). The evolution of ecological specialization across the range of a broadly distributed marine species. Evolution, 74(3), 629–643. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13930

Winkler, N. S., Paz-Goicoechea, M., Lamb, R. W., & Pérez-Matus, A. (2017). Diet reveals links between morphology and foraging in a cryptic temperate reef fish. Ecology and Evolution, 7(24), 11124–11134. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3604