posterior to the dorsal fin the melanophores are still 

 paired, but coalesce into a single line. 



Large stellate melanophores first appear on the 

 posterior end of the lateral line at 1 8 mm SL (Fig. 1 2) . 

 Between 1 1 and 15 melanophores are evident during 

 this transition phase between flexion and postflexion 

 larvae. In some of the specimens examined, in the 18- 

 20 mm SL range, pigment was in pairs, one directly 

 above and one directly below the lateral line (Fig. 1 2). 

 Between 35 and 62 large stellate melanophores were 

 counted on specimens >20 mm SL along the lateral 

 line posterior to the dorsal fin. 



Pigment first appeared as very small light chro- 

 matophores along the lateral line anterior to the dor- 

 sal fin and posterior to the opercular bone in 

 specimens 13-16 mm SL. These cells expanded into 

 distinct stellate melanophores in larger specimens 

 (Fig. 13A). The number of melanophores that could 

 be counted along the lateral line ranged from 7 to 23 

 in specimens 1 7.7-2 1.9 mm SL; more than 50 melano- 

 phores were counted for larvae > 23 mmSL(Fig. 13). 

 Stellate melanophores in the large postflexion larvae 

 (>25 mm SL) contracted into small indistinguish- 

 able melanophores along the lateral line (Fig. 13B). 



Newly hatched A. sapidissima had no pigment 

 associated with the notochord posterior to the anus 

 (Fig. 1 0A). Pigment first appeared on the dorsal tip of 

 the notochord at 9.8 mm SL with one to four small 

 melanophores. At 10.9 mm SL (Fig. 10B) pigment 

 was present as eight small melanophores on the dor- 

 sal tip and four small melanophores on the ventral tip 

 of the notochord. 



Melanophores associated with the caudal region ap- 

 peared to have migrated toward the anus in larvae 1 1 - 

 1 3 mm SL. The number and density of melanophores 

 concentrated at the end of the anus increased during 

 this length interval (Fig. 1 0A). Pigment still appeared 

 in the caudal region as larger, distinct stellate 

 melanophores; however, the number of melano- 

 phores remained fairly constant between three and 

 seven for larvae 11-13 mm SL. 



Pigment density increased rapidly in the caudal 

 region in larvae >15 mm SL (Figs. 11-13). Melano- 

 phores migrated onto the developing caudal rays 

 from the caudal peduncle region, and large stellate 

 melanophores outlined the edge of the caudal pedun- 

 cle (Fig. 12). 



Pigmentation reached its greatest density in larvae 

 23-25 mm SL (Fig. 13). The number of melanophores 

 increased and became more concentrated in post- 

 flexion and juvenile A. sapidissima. Larvae >25 mm 

 SL exhibited contraction in size of caudal stellate 

 melanophores, which became difficult to distin- 

 guish individually. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 81, NO. 2 



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 



Information pertaining to the morphology of larval 

 A. sapidissima presented herein reinforces the sum- 

 mary information presented in Mansueti and Hardy 

 (1967), Lippson and Moran (1974), and Jones et al. 

 (1978). In addition, this study details the ontogenic 

 changes in body development that were previously 

 unavailable in the literature. The earliest studies on 

 A. sapidissima larval morphology by Leim (1924) and 

 Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) reported morpho- 

 metric body proportions for selected sizes of larvae. 

 Recent studies on the early development of A. 

 sapidissima by Watson (1968), Chittenden (1969), 

 and Marcy (1976) presented results that adequately 

 describe the development and ontogenic changes 

 associated with egg and yolk-sac larvae develop- 

 ment. 



The culture techniques employed in this study 

 (Blair 1976) provided adequate samples to describe 

 the morphological development of A. sapidissima 

 over the standard length range that was previously 

 void in the literature (yolk-sac absorption to the 

 postflexion stage). A complete description of mor- 

 phological development and body proportion ratios 

 is now available from hatch through the adult stage. A 

 combination of this study, Hildebrand (1963), Chit- 

 tenden (1969), and Marcy (1976), provides a synop- 

 sis of the morphology and development of the egg, 

 larva, and adult stages of A. sapidissima. 



The range of preanal myomeres reported for 

 cultured larval A. sapidissima in the present study 

 varies slightly from that previously reported for A. 

 sapidissima (Mansueti and Hardy 1967; Lippson and 

 Moran 1974; Jones et al. 1978). Mansueti and Hardy 

 (1967) reported 43-47 preanal myomeres up to 13 

 mm SL; Lippson and Moran (1974) reported 41-47 

 between 6 and 14 mm SL; Jones et al. (1978) report- 

 ed a range of 44-50 (x = 47) preanal myomeres be- 

 tween 9.0 and 12.9 mm SL. These myomere ranges 

 are lower than those determined in the present study 

 over comparable length ranges (Table 2). 



Anterior myomeres can be difficult to discern in A. 

 sapidissima, because they are very crowded in the 

 early stages of development (i.e., 8-10 mm SL range). 

 Care was taken in this study to intensify the 

 myomeres by immersing each larvae in glycerin. 

 Berry and Richards (1973) stated that myomere 

 counts can be distorted by crowding in the anterior 

 region; the use of glycerin appears to improve the 

 reliability of myomere counts. 



Both this study and that of Mansueti and Hardy 

 (1967) report a decrease in preanal myomere count 

 with ontogeny and shortening of the gut, while main- 



336 



