MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION BETWEEN SINIBRAMA MACROPS AND S.WUI,WITH NOTES ON THEIR VALIDITIES

Principal component analysis(PCA)was performed separately for seven meristic and eighteen morphometric truss-network characters for 137 specimens from two currently recognized species of Sinibram,namely S macrops and S. wui occurring in southern China (including Taiwan Island),for investigating morphological differences between two species. Their species validities were also evaluated. PCA conducted on either meristic or morphometric characters demonstrated that there exist no distinct variations eight between Taiwan and mainland specimens of S. macrops or between this species and S. wui. It suggests that two species are conspecific. According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature(ICZN),S. macrops should be a senior synonym of S. wui.