Manal Moustafa Sabrah2, Mohammed I Ahmed1, Magdy A Alwany1 and Rasha A Heneish2
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Aquac Res Development
The accurate identification of species is a very important component in many fields of biological research and conservation efforts. The high level of expertise and time consuming process needed to identify them means a loss in biodiversity due to this lack of identification. Goat fishes of family Mullidae are harvested all over the world. In Egypt goat fishes occurs in the Red Sea, Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, migration and speciation of goat fishes through the Suez Canal have not been studied before. In this study we examine the evolutionary history and speciation of selected species of the family Mullidae using DNA barcoding techniques by using partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences for standardized and routine species identification. The results uncover new species and genetic diversity within the family Mullidae along the Egyptian coastal waters. Three (03) species were renamed and cryptic species complex were also discovered.