Comparative Study for Measurement the Diameter of Red and White Muscle Fibers in two Iraqi Fish Species Barbus Grypus (Heckel, 1843) and Barbus Sharpeyi (Gunter, 1874)

Abstract

The present study conducted to study the measurement of red and white muscle fibers in two Iraqi fish species (Barbus grypus and Barbus sharpeyi) belonging to the cyprinidae family specimens of fish collected from AL-Hindyiah river at Kerbala province using gill net and cast net. The results declare clear differences in the mean values for the different studying length groups of both species under investigation. The mean diameters of red muscle fibers were less than that of white muscle fibers diameter at different regions of the the body and studying length groups.  The results revealed that the diameter of red muscle fibers ranged from (40.68 - 73.32 microns) in comparison with (69.58 – 102.41 microns) for white muscle fibers for both species. On the other hands the results revealed that diameter of both red and white muscle fibers decrease toward the posterior region of the body, which is perhaps related to the mechanism of movement or swimming of the fish.

Keywords: Barbus grypus, Barbus sharpeyi, Red muscle fibers, White muscle fibers.