FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 3 



has two or three main branches which lead to the 

 Uver and other viscera. Godsil (1954, 1955) illus- 

 trated and described the branches of the coeliaco- 

 mesenteric in great detail. 



The postcardinal vein runs along the ventral 

 surface of the kidney (Figure 7) from the vicinity 

 of the first complete haemal arch anteriorly in the 

 median line to the pectoral region. There it curves 

 to the right and discharges into the right 

 Cuvierian duct. Posteriorly, the postcardinal 

 receives a pair of small veins at the level of each 

 vertebra. The postcardinal is composed of two 

 main branches that join anterior to the Y of the 

 ureter. The main branch leaves the haemal arch 

 dorsally and the small branch runs under the sur- 

 face of the kidney from the urogenital area. 



Specific Characters.— Y arisition was found in the 

 location of the components of the anterior part of 

 the arterial system (Table 2). Orcynopsis and 

 Gymnosarda tend to have both the epibranchials 

 and coeliaco-mesenteric more anterior than in the 

 other bonitos (ventral to first vertebra vs. second, 

 second vs. third, respectively). 



To locate which haemal arch the dorsal branch of 

 the postcardinal enters, a pin was forced into the 

 vertebral column at the point where the postcar- 

 dinal came up to the surface of the kidney. The 

 number of the vertebra bearing this haemal arch 

 was then determined at the end of the dissection. 

 The number of the vertebra varied as follows: 



Cybiosarda 15, 16, 17, 17 



Orcynopsis 16 

 Sarda australis 17, 18 

 S. chiliensis 16, 17, 17, 19, 21 

 S. orientalis 15, 16, 18, 19 

 S. sarda 18, 19, 20 

 Gymnosarda 16, 16, 17 

 Allothunnus 21 



PHARYNGEAL MUSCLES 



The paired pharyngeal (retractor dorsalis) 

 muscles are included on the figures of the anterior 

 part of the arterial system (Figure 6). The muscles 

 originate on the ventral surface of one to three 

 vertebrae between the fourth and the seventh and 

 insert on the upper pharyngeal bones. 



The pharyngeal muscles insert on the fourth and 

 fifth vertebra in Gymnosarda and are mostly on 

 the fifth or sixth vertebra in the other bonitos. The 

 data are as follows: Cybiosarda 6 (3 specimens), 5 

 (1 specimen), 7 (1 specimen); Orcynopsis 5 extend- 

 ing onto 4 (4 specimens); Sarda australis 6 (3 

 specimens, extending onto 7 in 1 specimen); S. 

 chiliensis NE Pacific 6 and 7 (2 specimens); S. 

 chiliensis SE Pacific 5 (5 specimens, extending 

 onto 6 in 3); S. orientalis Indo-West Pacific 6 (2 

 specimens), 5 extending onto 4 (1 specimen), 6 ex- 

 tending onto 7 and 5 (1 specimen); S. orientalis 

 eastern Pacific 6 (4 specimens, extending onto 7 in 

 all 4, onto 5 in 1); S. sarda 6 (3 specimens, extend- 

 ing onto 7 in 2 specimens, onto 5 in 1); Gymnosarda 



4 extending onto 5 (3 specimens); and Allothunnus 



5 extending onto 4 (1 specimen). 



Table 2.-Location of "Y" of aorta, posterior epibranchials, and the coeliaco-mesenteric artery, in the eight species of Sardini. 



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