Table 2 Meristic traits of the four Italian fluvio-lacustrine barbel clades along with Barbus barbus. Data from 6 specimens of the Barbus sp. TSAAC lineage presented in this paper have been added to data published by [54]. Results from the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are also shown. The table lists mean ± standard deviation; observed ranges are reported in parentheses

Number of dorsal fin branched rays

7.9 ± 0.4 (7–9)

8 ± 0.3 (7–9)

8.1 ± 0.3 (7–9)

7.8 ± 0.5 (7–9)

8.1 ± 0.3 (7–9)

12.6

< 0.001

Number of scales on the lateral line

55.8 ± 4.1 (50–70)

55.2 ± 2.8 (49–62)

56 ± 3.5 (50–66)

62.6 ± 3.8 (53–71)

56.9 ± 3.5 (49–68)

73.6

< 0.001

Number of scales above the lateral line

11.1 ± 1.1 (9–14)

11.8 ± 1.1 (9–15)

12.2 ± 1.3 (10–16)

13.4 ± 1.1 (10–16)

12.2 ± 1 (10–15)

51.7

< 0.001

Number of scales under the lateral line

7.9 ± 0.8 (6–10)

8.8 ± 0.8 (7–12)

8.5 ± 1.1 (6–13)

9.3 ± 1 (7–12)

8.4 ± 0.8 (7–10)

28.7

< 0.001