WATSON: REDESCRIPTION OF PIGFISH LARVAE 



Table 3. — Summary of counts from larval Orthopristis chrysoptera. Specimens between dashed lines are 

 undergoing notochord flexion. The presence of a fin anlage is denoted by "A". 



specimens from Texas. 



IDENTIFICATION 



Larvae of haemulids resemble those of several 

 other families, most notably gerreids, lutjanids, 

 sparids, and some sciaenids. Gerreids, lutjanids, and 

 sparids can be separated from haemulids by 

 myomere count: 24 versus the 26 or 27 of haemulids. 

 Sciaenids have 24 to 29 vertebrae (most species have 

 25) but are deeper bodied and often have a shorter 

 gut than the described haemulid larvae. Sciaenids 

 frequently have heavier preopercular armature as 

 well (Johnson 1978). Counts of dorsal soft fin rays 



allow easy separation of older specimens: Most 

 sciaenids have 19 or more while the western Atlantic 

 haemulids have 18 or fewer (Miller and Jorgenson 

 1973). 



Postflexion specimens of Orthopristis chrysoptera 

 are easily separated from other haemulids with which 

 they may occur by using anal fin ray counts. No other 

 species has more than 1 1 soft rays (Table 4). Separa- 

 tion of smaller specimens may be much more dif- 

 ficult, since larvae of most of the western Atlantic 

 haemulids are undescribed. 



Larval Haemulon plumieri, described by Saksena 



TABLE 4. — Fin ray and vertebral counts of haemulid species which may occur with 

 Orthopristis chrysoptera along the Atlantic and gulf coasts of the United States. 



M Miller and Jorgenson (1 973) 



2 Hoese and Moore M 977). 



3 Courtenay (1961 ), 



4 Walls(1975). 



5 This study 



853 



