Determination of age and growth of the mudskipper Periophthalmus waltoni Koumans, 1955 (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) on the mudflats of Qeshm Island and Bandar-Abbas, Iran

Abstract

In order to determine the age structure, growth, and length-weight relationship of the mudskipper, Periophthalmus waltoni, from coastal mudflats of Qeshm Island, Soroo and Bandar-pol, in Hormuzgan Province, Iran, we collected 192 individuals in February 2007. Age was determined using the second pectoral radial bone and year class was based on length-frequency distributions. Growth was described by the von Bertalanffy growth model. For Bandar-Pol mudskippers, = 141.51 mm, k = 0.46 year-1, and t0 = 0.79 year. For Qeshm mudskippers, = 166.79 mm, k = 0.42 year-1, and t0 = 0.62 year. Overall, males grew larger than females ( = 208 mm vs. 147 mm), while females grew faster (k = 0.41 vs. 0.19 year-1). The age when the theoretical length was 0 (t0) was 1.46 year for males and 0.88 for females. Maximum age was estimated to be 4+ years.