B. E. Bogdanov
Limnological Institute, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences,
ul. Ulan-Batorskaya 3, Irkutsk, 664011 Russia
e-mail: bakht@lin.irk.ru
Received March 6, 2006
Abstract—Sixteen samples of the stone sculpin Paracottus knerii from Baikal Lake, Angara River, and seven
water bodies of the Baikal and Angara basins are studied. Variation of the morphometric and meristic characters
is considered. It is found that the variation of a number of characters is biotopically conditioned and directed at
fish adaptation to deepwater and dwelling in the conditions of rapid current. There are also the characters whose
variation does not show any regularity, and it is a consequence of the discontinuity of range of the species. It is
shown that the individual pairs of populations have differences in a number of characters, and these differences
conform to the subspecies (CD > 1.28) and species levels (presence of hiatus). However all such pairs are con-
nected by “ring overlaps,” thus, it is not possible to consider them as independent taxa.
DOI: 10.1134/S003294520702004X
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