Ecologically, Aphaniops hormuzensis populations occupying diverse environments in southern Iran and showed substantial morphological variation across its range. In this study, three different habitats were chosen and identified as group A (sulfur rich spring), group B (salty River), and group C (urban canal), and scale microstructures and scale shape was inspected among three groups. The SEM imaging indicated that lepidonts were more developed on the scale of larger (group C, SL > 30 mm) than younger fish (group A, SL < 30 mm). We tentatively concluded that lepidonts are formed during scale development so that in the earlier stages of fish development, scales probably do not have lepidont. Also, the size and shape of lepidonts vary between the populations, and their shape and orientation within a given species affected by the fish size rather than the local ecological conditions of habitats. The number of radii was relatively higher in group C (12.58 ± 0.66 in males and 13.00 ± 1.89 in females). Similar to what is mentioned before in the case of lepidont, the inter-population variation in the number of radii seems to be influenced by fish size. Group A (SL < 30 mm) had a relatively large focus diameter (0.14 ± 0.02 in males and 0.36 ± 0.44 in females). It is assumed that the focus size is large at the earlier stage of fish development, but later during the fish growth, and by increasing the scale size, the focus diameter is reduced. In conclusion and agreement with previous studies, scale surface morphology and microstructure could be employed to discriminate certain populations, while scale size and J-indices could not help in distinguishing the populations. It is also proposed that the characteristics of scale morphology in the population-level are influenced by the combination of genetic, and environmental factors, as well as fish development.

生态学上，Aphaniops hormuzensis居住在伊朗南部不同环境的种群，并在其范围内表现出巨大的形态变化。在本研究中，选择了三个不同的栖息地并将其确定为 A 组（富硫泉）、B 组（咸河）和 C 组（城市运河），并检查了三组之间的鳞片微观结构和鳞片形状。SEM 成像表明，与年轻的鱼（A 组，SL < 30 毫米）相比，鳞齿鱼在更大（C 组，SL > 30 毫米）的尺度上更发达。我们初步得出结论，鳞片是在鳞片发育过程中形成的，因此在鱼类发育的早期阶段，鳞片可能没有鳞片。此外，鳞齿兽的大小和形状因种群而异，以及它们在给定物种中的形状和方向受鱼类大小而不是栖息地的当地生态条件的影响。C组的半径数量相对较多（男性为12.58±0.66，女性为13.00±1.89）。与之前在 lepidont 的情况下提到的类似，半径数量的种群间变化似乎受鱼大小的影响。A 组（SL < 30 mm）具有相对较大的焦点直径（男性为 0.14 ± 0.02，女性为 0.36 ± 0.44）。假设在鱼类发育的早期焦点尺寸较大，但在鱼类生长后期，通过增加鳞片尺寸，焦点直径减小。总之，与先前的研究一致，鳞片表面形态和微观结构可用于区分某些种群，而尺度大小和J-indices不能帮助区分人群。还提出种群水平的尺度形态特征受遗传、环境因素以及鱼类发育的综合影响。