Asymmetry in Chrysichthys Auratus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) (Siluridae) and Mugil Cephalus Linnaeus, 1857 (Mugilidae) from Lake Ahémé (Bénin, West Africa)

Abstract

Asymmetry study was performed for four bilateral characters of Chrysichthys auratus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) (Siluridae) and Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1857 (Mugilidae) collected from Guézin and Akodéha-Kpodji localities at Lake Ahémé, Republic of Bénin, West Africa. For both C. auratus and M. cephalus the four morphometric and one meristic characters, bilateral asymmetry was higher in the fish specimens collected from Guézin compared with that of specimens from Akodéha-Kpodji localities within Lake Ahémé. Bilateral asymmetry in C. auratus and M. cephalus increased with the fish size at both localities. The conceivable reasons of bilateral asymmetry in the two fish species are deliberated in relative to diverse pollutants in Lake Ahémé.