STEVENS ET AL.: LARVAE AND JUVENILES OF THREE KYPHOSID FISHES 

 Girella nigricans, Medialuna californiensis, and Hermosille azurea. 



Table 3. — Meristics of cleared and stained specimens of Girella nigricans. Broken lines enclose specimens under- 

 going notochord flexion and specimens below solid line are pelagic juveniles. 



melanophore appears on the isthmus just an- 

 terior to the gut, often preceded by a series of 

 several smaller spots. The pigment on the ven- 

 tral surface of the gut may also increase to form 

 a series of pigment dashes. 



At this stage a line of midlateral pigment 

 dashes develops on the tail, posteriorly between 

 the dorsal and ventral midline pigment. The 

 lateral row expands anteriad, reaching the trunk 



by the end of flexion. Pigment becomes heaviest 

 posteriorly, and when midlateral, midventral, 

 and middorsal melanophores are expanded in 

 this region, an incomplete bar is formed. Concur- 

 rent with the development of the lateral midline 

 pigment, internal series of melanophores form 

 above and below the vertebral column and ex- 

 pand anteriorly in concert with the external 

 lateral series. 



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