Articles

Genetic Identification of Endemic Fish Nomorhamphus liemi Vogt, 1978 from Sigi, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Sulawesi Island is geographically included in the Wallacea region, a transitional area between the Oriental and Australian zones, which makes Sulawesi’s fresh waters have a high level of fish species diversity. Some fish species found in Sulawesi freshwater are endemic. Research on Sulawesi endemic fishes in rivers is not as much as research on endemic fishes in lakes. Nomorhamphus liemi or locally known as angculung is one of Sulawesi’s endemic fishes. This species belongs to the sub-family Zenarchopterinae. The majority of species from the Zenarchopterinae sub-family are sexually dimorphic. This study aimed to molecularly identify angculung fish species using COI markers in the region. A total of nine angculung fish were collected and preserved using 96% alcohol. In the laboratory, tissue taken from the back of the dorsal fin was isolated and extracted, then amplified by PCR before sequencing. Sequencing results were validated on BLASTn, showing that nine samples belonged to Nomorhamphus liemi with 98-99% sequence similarity. The nucleotide base sequences were then analyzed using MEGA 7.0 software. The genetic distance of mackerel in these waters showed a close relationship. Phylogeny tree results showed population mixing so that mackerel in these waters can be managed in one management unit, especially in Sulawesi.