Morphological differences between three groups of Luciogobius guttatus on the Korean Peninsula

Three ecological and geographical forms of Luciogobius guttatus from the western and eastern coasts of the Korean Peninsula as well as the coasts of, Jeju Island which is located to the south of the peninsula are described and compared based on morphological characteristics. The environments of these three coastal areas are different, and the morphometrics show a clear pattern of differentiation and reveal the discreteness of the western, eastern and Jeju groups. In addition, a discriminant analysis (DA), a principal component analysis (PCA) of morphometric characteristics, and a t-test for meristic characteristics all show that the three populations of L. guttatus differ from each other. Three divergent lineages of L. guttatus are described with the possibility of niche differentiation between the western, eastern and Jeju coastal habitats. The standard length of eastern populations was greater than that of western and Jeju populations, and those with morphometric characteristics had a longer body. In addition, eastern populations had a higher number of vertebrae. We speculate that the characteristics of eastern populations evolved through the difference in tide level and gravel density, whereas the difference between western and Jeju populations is due to geographical distance.