Species identification of juvenile fishes of the genus Pseudoblennius using mitochondrial DNA barcoding.

Species identification is important in natural science and should be precise. Six specimens of juvenile Pseudoblennius were collected from the eastern coastal waters of the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island in 2016-2017, and identified for the first time using DNA barcoding based on mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences. DNA barcoding analysis supported three adult species of genus Pseudoblennius (P. cottoides, P. marmoratus, and P. percoides) being quite distinct from each other. Six juvenile specimens were completely identified: two as P. cottoides; two more as P. marmoratus; and the final two as P. percoides. Mitochondrial DNA COI can be effective as a means of species identification method for the genus Pseudoblennius.