Genetic confirmation of Red cornetfish, Fistularia petimba (Syngnathiformes: Fistularidae) occurrence in Turkish marine waters

Abstract

There is a controversy whether Fistularia petimba or F. commersonii are same species or distinct, since it is difficult to distinguish them based on morphological characters. In the present study, the COI and Cyt b gene regions of the mitochondrial DNA were used to address this question as well as to clarify the presence F. petimba. Based on the results, genetic distance between F. petimba and F. commersonii based on COI and Cyt b sequences were found to be 0.9536 and 0.95500, respectively. Average genetic diversity between species based on COI and Cyt b were found to be 0.00487, 0.04651 respectively. According to the results, F. petimba and F. commersonii are found genetically distinct from each other. The occurrence of red cornetfish F. petimba from Turkey marine waters was also confirmed showing its rapid range expansion to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.