A Morphological Comparison between Northern (Salvelinus malma) and Southern (Salvelinus curilus) Dolly Varden Chars (Salmoniformes, Salmonidae)

A morphological comparison of Northern (Salvelinus malma) and Southern (Salvelinus curilus) Dolly Varden chars was performed for 31 plastic and 8 meristic characters. Significant differences were observed in 24 plastic and 7 meristic signs, and in 29 cases the differences were highly significant (P > 0.999). In 11 cases, the differences reach the subspecific level - CD>1.28. Along the length of the upper jaw, there is a chiatus at the limits of variation of the index, and this is already at the level of the species. From the meristic features, it is necessary to distinguish the number of vertebrae – on this basis, the differences between these species are very large: CD=2.33. All this indicates significant differences between these samples and, once again, confirms the species status of southern Dolly Varden - Salvelinus curilus.