The developmental changes in the morphology of the otolith of the mullet Chelon auratus (Risso, 1810) (Mugiliformes, Mugilidae) collected from Köyceğiz Lagoon, Aegean Sea, Türkiye

ABSTRACTNineteen traits were described to define the shapes of the otoliths. The outcomes of this study display ontogenetic variations for different age groups based on the recorded shapes. Otoliths of the young individuals belonging to fish length groups GI and GII have shown differences in the otolith shape from those of the older individuals of the remaining seven length groups examined. A comparison with earlier published otolith description on C. auratus collected from other areas showed some interspecific variation across larger geographic distances, making some characters useless for diagnostic purposes. Other otolith features were shown to be consistent in otoliths from different length groups and such characteristics could be considered for species identification purposes. These characteristics are otolith width, depth, shape of the mesial and the lateral surfaces, shape of the sulcus acusticus, shape of the ostium and cauda and shape of the ostio-caudal differentiation.KEYWORDS: MorphologySEMontogenyinterspecific variationotolith ornamentationsvariation AcknowledgmentsWe would like to thank Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Scientific Research Project Office (project number: 17/119) for funding this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThis study was funded by Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Scientific Research Project Office (project number: 17/119).