Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 barcode data of fish of the Nayband National Park in the Persian Gulf and analysis using meta-data flag several cryptic species

We provide cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) barcode sequences of fishes of the Nayband National Park, Persian Gulf, Iran. Industrial activities, ecological considerations, and goals of The Fish Barcode of Life campaign make it crucial that fish species residing in the park be identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of barcoding data on fishes of the Persian Gulf. 187 individuals representing 76 species, 56 genera, and 32 families were examined. The data flagged potentially cryptic species of Gerres filamentosus and Plectorhincus schotaf. 16S rDNA data on these species are provided. Exclusion of the two species resulted in a mean COI intraspecific distance of 0.18%, and a mean inter-to intra-specific divergence ratio of 66.7. There was no overlap between maximum K2Pdistances among conspecifics (1.66%) and minimum distance among congeneric species (6.19%). Barcodes shared among species were not observed. Neighbor-joining analysis showed that most species fo...