ABSTRACT

For the course of this study, a total of 100 specimens of Hydrocynus forskahlii were collected at different stages of life from Ureje Dam, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, between the period of .September and October, all fish samples of Hydrocynus forskahlii was carefully examined to avoid damage to any of the morphometric characteristics of the fish. The measurements for (he morphometric characteristics of each of the investigated tiger fish specimen was carried out in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Laboratory in Federal University Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State using a measuring board (cm). From the 100 specimens of Hydrocynus forskahlii collected, 39 of them are male while 61 pieces of them are female, the variation observed in the number of the samples collected are largely due to availability at the time of collection. All specimens were examined for estimating the morphological characteristics of Hydrocynus forskahlii collected from Ureje dam, of the area of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State. The morphological characteristic measured and analysed includes Body Weight (Bwt), Standard length (STL), Total length (TL), Mouth Gap (MG), Forked Length Distance (FLD), Pelvic Fin 'Length (PLFL), Adipose Fin Length (ADFL), Dorsal Fin Length (DFL), Anal Fin Length (AFL), Pectoral Fin Length (PCFL), Body Depth (BD), Head Length (HL) of the fish samples while the fish condition factor was further taken and the length-weight relationship of both sex was measured. The dominant morphological characteristics of the species were significantly different at P<0.05. Likewise, all morphometric characteristics of the male fish showed strong positive con-elation to each other while negative con-elation was recorded in some of the morphometric characteristics of the female fish. This study therefore gives information to fisheries biologists and taxonomists about the morphometric characteristics of Hydrocynus forskahlii from Ureje dam, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.