Bilateral asymmetry in certain morphological characters of Sarotherodon melanotheron Rüppell 1852 and Coptodon guineensis (Günther 1862) collected from Lake Ahémé and Porto-Novo Lagoon Bénin, West Africa

Asymmetry analysis was carried out for three bilateral characters of two cichlid fish species, Sarotherodon melanotheron and Coptodon guineensis collected from two localities, Lake Ahémé and Porto-Novo lagoon, Republic of Bénin, West Africa. For both S. melanotheron and C. guineensis snout length (SL), eye diameter (ED) and number of scales on lateral line (LLS), bilateral asymmetry was higher in the fish specimens collected from Porto-Novo lagoon compared with that of specimens from Lake Ahémé. Bilateral asymmetry in S. melanotheron and C. guineensis increased with the fish size at all localities. The possible causes of bilateral asymmetry in the two cichlid species are discussed in relation to different pollutants in both water bodies.