Species composition of hairtails (Trichiuridae) in Myanmar

Hairtails (family Trichiuridae) are an important group of fish for coastal fisheries worldwide. In the view to reiterate the need of management of hairtails found in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the species composition of hairtails was investigated according to the morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. A total of 95 individual landed fish were sampled from fish markets in Yangon and Myeik. The hairtails were treated similarly to the group without species distinction at the fish markets, which consisted of five species from three genera, namely Trichiurus sp., Lepturacanthus savala, Lepturacanthus sp., Eupleurogrammus sp., and Eupleurogrammus muticus. Further studies on the biological characteristics and taxonomies are needed to establish improved approach of identifying with such fishery species in Myanmar.