AbStraCt.-The larval develop- 

 ment of three roughy species com- 

 plexes, Paratrachichthys sp., Aulo- 

 trachichthys sp., and Optivus sp., is 

 described and illustrated using lar- 

 vae collected from Tasmanian and 

 New South Wales waters. Larvae 

 were identified using meristic and 

 morphological characters and are 

 characterized by differences in head 

 and dermal spination, size at cau- 

 dal flexion, and size and pigmenta- 

 tion of the pelvic fins. Head spination 

 is well developed in Aulotra- 

 chichthys, and weak in Optivus and 

 Paratrachichthys. Dermal spination 

 is well developed in postflexion Aulo- 

 trachichthys and flexion Optivus, but 

 absent in Paratrachichthys. Devel- 

 opment of a luminous organ and an- 

 terior migration of the anus occur 

 much earlier in Aulotrachichthys 

 than Paratrachichthys and are no- 

 tably absent in Optivus. The use of 

 these larval characters in tra- 

 chichthyid systematics, and the pos- 

 sible reasons for the absence in our 

 samples of larvae attributable to or- 

 ange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus, 

 are discussed. 



Larval development of three 

 roughy species complexes 

 (Pisces: Trachichthyidae) from 

 southern Australian waters, 

 with comments on the occurrence 

 of orange roughy Hoplostethus 

 atlanticus 



Alan R. Jordan 



CSIRO Division of Fisheries, GPO Box I 538, Hobart, Tasmania 700 1 . Australia 

 Present address Sea Fisheries Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industry 

 and Fisheries, Crayfish Point, Taroona, Tasmania 7053, Australia 



Barry D. Bruce 



South Australian Department of Fisheries, GPO Box 1 625, Adelaide 500 1 . South Australia 



Present address: CSIRO Division of Fisheries, GPO Box 

 Australia 



538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001. 



Manuscript accepted 2 November 1992. 

 Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 91:76-86 (1993). 



The family Trachichthyidae (order 

 Beryciformes) consists of some 31 

 species, of which at least 15 occur in 

 southern temperate waters of Aus- 

 tralia (May & Maxwell 1986). Seven 

 genera are known from Australian 

 waters: Hoplostethus, Paratra- 

 chichthys, Aulotrachichthys, Optivus, 

 Gephyroberyx, Trachichthys, and 

 Sorosichthys. The various species in- 

 habit depths from nearsurface to 

 greater than 1200 m, with most oc- 

 curring in depths greater than 200 m. 

 There is considerable confusion re- 

 garding the taxonomy of the group, 

 and a number of the species occur- 

 ring in Australian waters are un- 

 described. The genus Hoplostethus 

 comprises at least three Australian 

 species — H. intermedins, H. latus, 

 and orange roughy H. atlanticus 

 (May & Maxwell 1986)— which sup- 

 ports a recently developed fishery. 

 Paratrachichthys is represented in 

 Australian waters by the sandpaper 

 fish, Paratrachichthys sp., an un- 

 described species that is closely re- 

 lated to, and has only recently been 

 distinguished from, the New Zealand 



endemic P. trailli (M. Gomon, Mus. 

 Victoria, Melbourne, pers. commun., 

 Nov 1990). Specimens have been re- 

 corded from New South Wales, 

 Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, 

 and southern Western Australian 

 waters (May & Maxwell 1986). 



Aulotrachichthys and Optivus each 

 contain two closely-related unde- 

 scribed Australian species (M. Gomon, 

 pers. commun. ). Aulotrachichthys sp.l 

 occurs in shallow waters of South Aus- 

 tralia, whereas Aulotrachichthys sp.2 

 occurs in deeper water off the east 

 coast (May & Maxwell 1986). Sim- 

 ilarly, Optivus has both eastern 

 and western Australian representa- 

 tives: Optivus sp.l along the east 

 coast as far north as southern 

 Queensland, and Optivus sp.2 off 

 southern Western Australia (May & 

 Maxwell 1986). The remaining three 

 genera are monotypic, represented by 

 Gephyroberyx darwini, Trachichthys 

 australis, and Sorosichthys anannassa. 



Little is known about the ecology 

 or early life history of trachichthyids, 

 and there is nothing in the litera- 

 ture on the early life history of Aus- 



76 



