Relative Mass of Pharyngeal Teeth of Roach Rutilus rutilus: Correlation with Fish Biologic Parameters and Inherited Traits

Abstract

The mass of pharyngeal teeth (pharyngeal jaws with teeth located on them) and its proportion of the total body mass of the roach Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus, 1758) with different feed types in the Rybinsk Reservoir have been analyzed. It is ascertained that the proportion of pharyngeal tooth mass tends to increase significantly as the fish body length increases from 170 to 200 mm, body mass from 90 to 200 g, and the age from 5 to 7 years. This parameter for the analyzed specimens does not depend on the number of teeth on the pharyngeal jaws. The absolute and relative masses of pharyngeal teeth are not associated with genetic traits such as the number of vertebrae in the vertebral column and its sections. However, fish with a high relative mass of pharyngeal teeth are characterized by higher phenetic diversity in the number of phenotypes in the vertebral column.