FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 70, NO. 4 



Nemichthyidae 



(19 occurrences, 21 larvae) 



Although eels of this family are widely distrib- 

 uted in offshore oceanic waters, most occurren- 

 ces of leptocephali (14 of 19) were in the north- 

 east quadrant, between lat 0° and 10°N. 



Ophichthidae 



(26 occurrences, 49 larvae) 



Ophichthid leptocephali were taken in a 

 broad coastal band between Manzanillo, Mexico, 

 and Central Peru (lat 10°S). They ranked first 

 in relative abundance among eel leptocephali and 

 second in frequency of occurrence. 



Serrivomeridae 



(6 occurrences, 8 larvae) 



Most occurrences of serrivomerid leptocephali 

 (5 of 6) were on the outer line of the ETP II 

 pattern, along long 119°W, and the remaining 

 occurrence was along long 112°W. In contrast 

 to nemichthyid leptocephali which may grow to 

 300 or 400 mm long, leptocephali of Serrivomer- 

 idae rarely exceed about 60 mm. 



Xenocongridae 



(4 occurrences, 4 larvae) 



The few occurrences of leptocephali of Chlop- 

 sis, the sole representative of this family, were 

 within 4° of the equator. 



22. MELAMPHAIDAE 

 (284 occurrences, 1,365 larvae) 



Larvae of Melamphaidae ranked fourth in 

 frequency of occurrence, eighth in relative 

 abundance. Larvae were distributed through- 

 out the ETP II pattern (Figure 16) and oc- 

 curred in 80% of the collections. Most collec- 

 tions contained only moderate numbers of lar- 

 vae — the average number of larvae per positive 



haul was only 4 to 8. The majority of hauls 

 containing larger numbers of larvae (11 or more 

 per haul) were taken within 5° of the equator 

 (Figure 16). Melamphaid larvae were repre- 

 sented by four genera: Melamphaes, Scopelog- 

 adus, Scopeloberyx, and Poromitra. 



23. TRACHICHTHYIDAE 

 (11 occurrences, 70 larvae) 



The big-headed larvae of a representative of 

 this family were taken at 11 stations on the two 

 inner lines of the Rockaway pattern, between 

 about lat 2° to 8°S (Appendix Table 3). They 

 appear to be larvae of Trachichthys mento Gar- 

 man, initially described from the Gulf of Pan- 

 ama. Bussing (1965) supplemented Garman's 

 description, utilizing 53 specimens (55 to 104 

 mm) collected at Eltaniyi Station 34 at lat 07°45' 

 to 07°48'S, long 81°23'W. Parin (1971) also 

 obtained material of this species in the eastern 

 tropical Pacific from oflf South America. 



25. BREGMACEROTIDAE 

 (160 occurrences, 3,062 larvae) 



Larvae of Bregmacerotidae ranked fifth in 

 abundance and contributed 2.5% of fish larvae 

 on ETP II. The majority of larvae was taken 

 to the north of the equator, with three inshore 

 collections contributing over 70% of the total. 

 These collections of 927, 753, and 511 larvae were 

 exclusively Bregmaceros bathymaster Jordan. 

 Larvae of this species were distributed in a broad 

 coastal band in the northern half of the EAS- 

 TROPAC pattern. As noted in the ETP I re- 

 port, larvae of five species of Bregmaceros are 

 distributed in the eastern tropical Pacific. 



27. SCOMBERESOCIDAE 

 (27 occurrences, 153 specimens) 



Two species of Scomberescocidae were taken 

 on ETP II — Scomberesox saurus L. (18 occur- 

 rences, 52 specimens) and Cololabis adocetus 

 Bohlke (9 occurrences, 101 specimens). The 



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