The structure and development of skeleton in Capoeta trutta (Heckel, 1843)

The Structure and Development of Skeleton in Capoeta trutta (Heckel, 1843) This study was aimed to determine the skeletal structure and bone development in Capoeta trutta (Heckel, 1843) caught from Keban Dam Lake. For this purpose, 50 fish samples in different sizes were examined between January 2013 and December 2014. Fish samples were brought to the anatomy laboratory in Faculty of Fisheries Fırat University. Dorsal fin rays of fishes were counted after their lengths and weights have been determined. The internal organs are removed, then the fish was boiled in a pot of hot water for 1-5 minutes and all bony structures were separated from the meat. All bony structures were thoroughly cleaned and dried. Then all bony structures were weighed. The lengths and weights of some selected bony structures were also determined separately. Age of the fish was determined from dorsal fin rays. The skeletal and bone development of fishes were tried to determine by assessing the changes of total bony weight, the weights and lengths of some bony structures depending changes on age, weight and length of fishes. Fishes used in this study were 4-9 in age, 22.5-40.23 cm in standard length and 243.75-1060.10 g in weight. The number of dorsal fin rays were counted as 11 (III-8). The number, mean weight and mean diameter of the vertebrae were 39-43, 2.35-10.72 g and 3.43-6.54 mm respectively. The bony weight percentage was found between 3.49-4.47% and the highest (4.5%) value was determined in age group 7 fishes. In general, it was seen that there was a compatibility between skeletal growth and general development in C. trutta. Since the measured data obtained from the bony structures of fish showed similar with the size of fish. As a result, the bone and skeletal development of C. trutta fish species from Keban Dam Lake were firstly investigated in this study. In addition, it was found that skeletal development of fish was normal and there is no a situation that negatively affect skeletal development of fish. Key Words: Capoeta trutta, skeleton, Keban Dam Lake