DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF LARVAL AND JUVENILE FISHES 

 OF THE FAMILY MULLIDAE OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC 



By Melba C. Caldwell, Fishery Research Biologist 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 



From Februai-y 10, 1953, to December 12, 1954, 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made nine 

 pxploratorj- cruises with the motor vessel Theodore 

 .V. Gill into the waters off the south Atlantic coast 

 of the United States. These cniises were tlie 

 initial phase of a study of biological, chemical, 

 and physical oceanographic conditions between 

 Cape ITatteras and the Florida Straits. Several 

 small specimens of goatfislies, family Mullidae, 

 wei-e collected. As existing keys to the group 

 proved inadequate for the identification of the 

 young, developmental studies were undertaken for 

 the two species abimdant in the area : MulJu.<i auni- 

 tus Jordan and Gilbert and Pseuflupeneus macula- 

 tu.'i (Bloch). Two additional species, Vfeneun 

 parint>< Poey and Miilloidichthys martmiciis 

 (Cuvier), were included in the study since it was 

 anticipated that they occurred in the waters en- 

 compassed by the survey. 



Material from other than Gill collections has 

 been examined. The cruises of the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service vessels Silver Bay and Oregon 

 have contributed many Midlidae to the collections 

 of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological 

 Laboi-atory, Brunswick, Ga. (BLBG). 



METHODS 



Ernest A. Lachner is presently engaged in a 

 revision of the family Mullidae, and I have given 

 only as mucli attention to the adults as is necessary 

 to trace development. Briggs (1958) has been 

 followed in nomenclature. 



Lachner (1051) has been followed Ih regard to 

 counts of fin rays, gill rakers, and scales. All gill 

 raker nidiments were counted as gill rakers. 

 Photomicrographic methods of Caldwell and 

 Carlin ^ were u.sed for photographing specimens 

 below 19 mm. Staining methods of Ilollister 

 (1934) and Evans (1948) were followed. 

 Pectoral rays were comited on the right side unless 

 the right pectoral was injured, curled, or bent 

 forward. Measurements were made with either a 

 micrometer ej'epiece or dial calipers, and were 

 taken at the positions indicated in figure 1. 



Measurements of selected body parts less than 

 100 mm. are recorded to the nearest 0.1 mm., and 

 above this size, to the nearest 0.5 mm. Measure- 



Approved for publication November 2S. 1981. 

 213. 



Fishery Bulletin 



' Caldwell, David K., and Charles R. Carlin. A photomicro- 

 graphic .adapter for steromicroscopea useful in photographing flsh 

 larvae. Copeia, No. 2, 1962, p. 445-446. 



Table 1. — Comparison o/ selected characters of the four species of Mullidae of the western North Atlantic 



[Applicable only to specimens of Pseudupeneus maeulatus, Mullas auralus, and Upeneus pamis over 50 mm., and to MuUoidichthya martinicut over 82.6 mm. 



Specimen size at which development of each character occurs is discussed in the te.\t] 



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