First record of leucism in the Blackbelly rosefish Helicolenus dactylopterus (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Sebastidae), with notes on the lack of intragenic genetic divergence on the gene cytochrome c oxidase I (5’-COI) for the genus Helicolenus

Abstract

The finding of a leucistic specimen of Helicolenus dactylopterus on the demersal waters of Portuguese Atlantic coast is reported. The H. dactylopterus morphological, meristic and morphometric characters described here matched with previous descriptions of the species, and a similarity of 98% within the genus was observed with regards to sequence alignment to the gene cytochrome c oxidase. However, a more specific gene may need to be applied to achieve specific genetic identification to the species level. Leucism does not seem to affect the condition of the fish as these factors were within normal ranges.