Adamson Eleanor A S, Britz Ralf
Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, United Kingdom. The Fishmongers' Company, London, EC4R 9EL, United Kingdom.
Zootaxa. 2018 Nov 9;4514(4):542-552. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.4.7.
Channa aurolineata is a valid species of the Marulius group. Previously treated as a synonym of C. marulius, C. aurolineata is readily distinguished from C. marulius by a different colour pattern, in which a conspicuous white posterior margin is present on the black scales that form the dark lateral blotches in larger juveniles and adults (vs. scales without white margin but with white spots in C. marulius). Channa aurolineata also differs from C. marulius by having more lateral line scales (65-71 vs 62-65), more dorsal-fin rays (55-58 vs 52-56) and more vertebrae (63-66 vs 59-63). In addition to these morphological differences, C. aurolineata is genetically more than 8% different (uncorrected p-distance) from C. marulius at the COI barcoding gene, a difference consistent with levels of genetic divergence observed among different species. The same characters that distinguish C. aurolineata from C. marulius also distinguish it from C. pseudomarulius, the other Indian member of the Marulius group. Channa aurolineata has a widespread distribution in larger rivers in Myanmar, including the Chindwin, Ayeyarwaddy, Sittaung and Thanlwin river basins. The Indo-Burman ranges appear to delineate the western geographical limit of this species, with C. marulius restricted to the western side of this mountain chain.
金线鳢是马鲁利鳢类群中的一个有效物种。金线鳢以前被视为马鲁利鳢的同义词，它与马鲁利鳢很容易通过不同的颜色模式区分开来，在较大的幼鱼和成年鱼中，形成深色侧斑的黑色鳞片上有明显的白色后缘（相比之下，马鲁利鳢的鳞片没有白色边缘但有白色斑点）。金线鳢与马鲁利鳢的区别还在于有更多的侧线鳞（65 - 71对62 - 65）、更多的背鳍鳍条（55 - 58对52 - 56）和更多的椎骨（63 - 66对59 - 63）。除了这些形态差异外，在细胞色素氧化酶亚基I（COI）条形码基因上，金线鳢与马鲁利鳢的遗传差异超过8%（未校正的p距离），这种差异与不同物种间观察到的遗传分化水平一致。将金线鳢与马鲁利鳢区分开来的相同特征，也将它与马鲁利鳢类群的另一个印度成员伪马鲁利鳢区分开来。金线鳢广泛分布于缅甸的较大河流中，包括钦敦江、伊洛瓦底江、锡当河和萨尔温江流域。印缅山脉似乎划定了该物种的西部地理界限，马鲁利鳢则局限于这条山脉的西侧。
