Morphological and molecular evidence on the occurrence of Channa harcourtbutleri (Annandale 1918) in the Mahanadi River system, India
摘要
This research provides the first material evidence of Channa harcourtbutleri (Annandale, 1918) from the Mahanadi River system in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, India. A total of eight specimens were collected from five sites in the Mahanadi River system. The morphological examination, meristic counts, and molecular analysis based on mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase I gene sequences confirm the species to be C. harcourtbutleri. This finding is also supported by the pair-wise genetic distance, K2P distance, Maximum Likelihood tree, and Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP) analysis. The present record of this species along with its molecular analysis will aid in understating its distribution, zoogeography and evolutionary biology, which will enhance better management practices concerning its conservation.