FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 87. NO. 3, 1989 



75 mm length when they begin to seek deeper 

 subtidal habitats (Limbaugh 1955; Fitch and 

 Lavenberg 1971; Ki-amer and Smith 1973; Feder 

 et al. 1974; Gruber et al. 1982; Walker et al. 1987; 

 Waples 1987; Waples and Rosenblatt 1987). In- 

 formation on zebra perch is limited; then- larvae 

 occur in nearshore plankton tows in summer and 

 fall (Walker et al. 1987) and small juveniles are 

 reported to school with those of opaleye in 

 August (Lockley 1952; Limbaugh 1955; Feder et 

 al. 1974). 



The systematic placement of these species is 

 unsettled. Hubbs et al. (1979) and earlier work- 

 ers recognized separate families for each of 

 them, placing G. nigricans in Gu'ellidae, M. cali- 

 foryiiensis in Scorpididae, and H. azurea in 

 Kyphosidae; other workers have grouped the 

 three species in Kyphosidae (Robins et al. 1980). 

 Johnson (1984) maintained separate families for 

 these species in his survey of percoid ontogeny 

 and included two of our original drawings (10.9 

 mm G. nigricans and 10.1 mm M. californiensis) 

 in his review. 



The purpose of this paper is to describe the 

 larvae and pelagic juveniles of G. nigricans, M. 

 californiensis, and H. azurea, summarize their 

 distributions from California Cooperative 

 Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) sur- 

 veys and other sources, and point out ontoge- 

 netic characters that may be useful in defining 

 systematic relationships. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



Larvae and pelagic juveniles of G. nigricans 

 and M. californiensis were obtained principally 

 from CalCOFI plankton surveys, while those of 

 H. azurea came from nearshore plankton sam- 

 ples off the San Onofre Nuclear Generating 

 Station (SONGS) (Barnett et al. 1984). Totals of 

 213 larvae and 111 pelagic juveniles were avail- 

 able for G. nigricans; 253 larvae and 31 pelagic 

 juveniles for Af. californiensis; and 79 larvae and 

 6 pelagic juveniles for H. azurea. Additional 

 larval specimens of G. nigricans were obtained 

 from a batch of field-caught eggs reared by 

 David Kramer in the experimental aquarium of 

 the Southwest Fisheries Center from 1 to 28 

 June 1968. We reared several batches of G. 

 nigricans larvae from field collections of eggs in 

 May to July 1978 and in July 1979. None of these 

 larvae survived more than one week; however, 

 they were useful in defining early pigment pat- 

 terns. 



Developmental series were established to 



study general morphology, morphometry, and 

 pigmentation; selected specimens were cleared 

 and stained using the method of Potthoff (1984) 

 to determine the sequence of ossification of fin 

 rays, vertebrae, branchiostegal rays, and head 

 spines. The descriptive methods and terminol- 

 ogy follow Ahlstrom et al. (1976) and Johnson 

 (1984). Prior to the completion of notochord flex- 

 ion, body length was measured from the tip of 

 the snout to the tip of the notochord and is desig- 

 nated notochord length (NL). In postflexion 

 specimens body length was measured to the 

 posterior edge of the hypural plate and is termed 

 standard length (SL). 



DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF 

 THE SPECIES 



Larvae of the three species can be separated 

 by melanistic pigment pattern (Fig. 1). Pre- 

 flexion and flexion stage larvae of G. nigricans 

 have one or two melanophores on the ventral 

 midline of the gut. Hermosilla azurea usually 

 have 3 or 4 (range, 1-6) evenly spaced mela- 

 nophores in this region and M. californiensis 

 larvae lack ventral gut melanophores during 

 these stages. Preflexion and flexion larvae of G. 

 nigricans and H. azurea have a series of evenly 

 spaced melanophores along the ventral margin 

 of the tail usually beginning at the first postanal 

 myomere; in M. californiensis the series often 

 is incomplete anteriorly (except in yolk-sac 

 larvae). Larvae of M. californiensis usually 

 have small melanophores dorsally and ventrally 

 near the tip of the notochord. These melano- 

 phores are smaller, fewer, and often present 

 only on the ventral margin in the other two 

 species. 



All three species are heavily pigmented along 

 the dorsal and ventral margins through most of 

 larval life and all three acquire a midlateral 

 streak along the tail during notochord flexion. 

 The streak originates more posteriorly in M. 

 californiensis than in the other two species. In 

 flexion larvae of M. californiensis and H. 

 azurea, pigment spreads from the dorsal, 

 lateral, and ventral series to form a band around 

 the tail. This band originates more anteriorly 



Figure 1. — Lateral, dorsal, and ventral views of early ky- 

 phosid larvae: (A-C) Girella nigricans, 5.7 mm NL, 

 CalCOFI cruise 7805, station 90.28, surface tow; (D-F) 

 Medialuna califoniiensis, 5.2 mm NL, CalCOFI cruise 

 6207-B, station 110.55, oblique tow; (G-I) Hermosilla 

 azurea, 4.3 mm NL, MEC SONGS cruise 1^0, surface tow. 



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