title: Forensic identification of the guitarfish species Rhinobatos horkelli, R. percellens and Zapteryx brevirostris using multiplex-PCR.
abstract: Rhinobatos percellens, Rhinobatos horkelli and Zapteryx brevirostris, known as guitarfish, are commonly found inshore and caught by trawl nets. Recently, these species have been suffering sharp population declines. One of the main impediments to the development of conservation plans is the lack of information related to each species catch. Gathering this information is made more difficult by the fishermen's practice of removing parts of the animals before landing, as well as the morphological similarities among the three species. To address these issues, this work presents multiplex-PCR protocols that were developed to distinguish among these species using their genetic characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Genética de Peixes, Departamento de Morfologia, Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Distrito de Rubião Júnior, s/n, CEP 18618-000, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Laboratório de Genética de Peixes, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, CEP 17033-360, Bauru, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: DE-Franco
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Mendonça
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Porto-Foresti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Foresti