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Abstract

Wallago attu (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), an economically valuable silurid catfish species, is extensively harvested from South Asian river systems. However, information on stock levels in the Indus River population in Pakistan remains limited. This study examined morphological differences among three geographically distinct populations of W. attu from the Chashma, Sukkur, and Taunsa Barrages, located at different elevations in the Indus River system. Thirty-four morphometric characters were recorded from 75 individuals (25 per location) using a landmark method, and multivariate, univariate, and allometric analyses were conducted. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differentiation in body shape among the three W. attu populations (Pillai’s trace= 1.49, F₍₂₆, ₁₂₂₎= 13.80, P<0.001). Thirteen of the 34 characters showed significant differences after False Discovery Rate correction, while total, fork, and standard lengths showed no significant differences among the three populations, meaning there were no significant differences in size among the three populations. However, they showed significant differences in body proportions, specifically head region and fin traits, such as post-orbital length (η²= 0.31) and head depth (η²= 0.25). Principal component analysis showed size-based overlap along the first axis (53.2%) but partial segregation along shape axes, with the Chashma group as the most distinct cluster. Cross-validated discriminant analysis classified 84% of individuals to their sites of origin. Allometric growth was isometric in the Sukkur and Taunsa Barrage samples. In contrast, non-isometry was common among the Chashma fish, and the length-weight relation showed negative allometry in the Chashma and Sukkur samples and isometry at the Taunsa Barrage. This study shows that the three barrage samples represent morphologically distinct phenotypic stocks, most likely influenced by differences between lentic and lotic habitats in the Indus River.

Keywords

Wallago attu Morphometrics Allometric growth Phenotypic stock Indus River Population divergence

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The authors transfer the copyrights of their papers to the Iranian Society of Ichthyology. However, the information could be used in accordance with the Creative Commons licence (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

How to Cite
HUSSAIN, I., AMMAR, M., NASEER, A., MUSHTAQ, M. F., KHAN, A. M., & ALTAF, M. (2026). Morphometric divergence and allometric growth reveal phenotypic stock structure in <i>Wallago attu</i> across three barrages of the Indus River, Pakistan. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 13(13). https://doi.org/10.22034/iji.v13i13.1159
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