Age and growth of Coreius heterodon from Wuhan stretch of the middle Yangtze River

To reveal the age and growth characteristics of Coreius heterodon, we collected 435 specimens from Wuhan stretch, Yangtze River, between July 2017 and December 2018. The result showed that the body length ranged from 152.1 to 325.2 mm with the mean of (233.2±73.4) mm, and that the body weight ranged from 33.1 to 429.8 g, with the mean of (182.40 ± 85.4) g. The age ranged from 1 to 5 years and the dominant population with the mean of 75.6% was of individuals of 2 and 3 years. Although there was no significant difference between the sex ratio (male: female) of 1∶1.07 and 1∶1, there was significant difference in different body length groups. The female dominated in large individuals, while the male dominated in small individuals. The marginal increment ratio (MIR) of scales showed that the formation time of age was from July to September. The relationship between body length and body weight was described by the equation: W=7×10^-6L^3.111(R²=0.963) and significant difference was not found between both sexes in the length-weight relationship. The relationship between body length and scale radius was described by the equation: L=52.983R+72.439 (R²=0.678). The Von Bertalanffy growth function was L_t=482.7 1−exp −0.22 (t+0.25); W_t=1 573.7 1−exp−0.22 (t+0.25)^3.11, respectively. The inflection point age of growth was 5.15 years, and the corresponding body length and weight were 335.6 mm, and 501.7 g, respectively. C. heterodon in Wuhan, Yangtze River had a simple age structure with slow growth rate. It is urgent to take necessary measures to promote the spread of its population.