Powell and Henley: Larval development of Paralichthys albigutta and P lethostigma 



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Figure 7 



Pigmentation on the ventral side of field-collected, postflexion (A) gulf flounder, Paralichthys 

 albigutta (9.1 mm SL), and (B) summer flounder, P. dentatus (9.7 mm SL). 



size .P. dentatus is the least developed of the four para- 

 lichthids (Fahay, 1983). 



The best diagnostic character for separating P. 

 albigutta from P. lethostigma is the development of 

 meristic characters, but field-caught specimens must 

 be cleared and stained prior to identification. At any 

 given size, P. albigutta is more developed than P. 

 lethostigma (Tables 1 and 2). The number of cranial 

 spines could be useful in separating preflexion P. 

 albigutta (zero to two spines) from preflexion P. 

 lethostigma (three spines) if field-collected specimens 

 are in concordance with those reared in the labora- 

 tory. Pigmentation on the lateral surface of the hind- 

 gut and caudal area are more developed in P. 

 albigutta compared with P. lethostigma, but these 

 characters may not be as consistent on wild speci- 

 mens (e.g. Table 6). Caution should be used when 

 extrapolating pigment patterns on laboratory-reared 

 material to field-collected materials. 



Acknowledgments 



The authors are grateful to Rick Monahan, Robert 

 Kittrell, and Joe Andrews of the NC Division of Ma- 

 rine Fisheries for providing the spawning stock. Sin- 

 cere appreciation is extended to Valerie Comparetta 

 for her outstanding assistance in the spawning and 

 rearing aspect of this study, to Roger Robbins for his 

 technical support, and to Jeanie Fulford for typing 

 the manuscript. William Hettler, Charles Manooch 



III, and two anonymous reviewers reviewed the 

 manuscript and provided many valuable comments. 



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