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



of the entire anal fin is pigmented by 8.6 mm; 

 the anal spines and membranes are heavily pig- 

 mented by 9.6 mm, as are the membranes be- 

 tween anal soft rays 5 to 9 or 10. The mem- 

 branes between anal soft rays 1-5 are usually 

 unpigmented in larvae, and only sparsely pig- 

 mented in juveniles. 



Caudal fin pigment is usually restricted to the 

 melanophore(s) at the distal hypural margin dur- 

 ing the larval stage. Small melanophores may be 

 acquired along the proximal edges of some of the 

 principal caudal rays in small juveniles. 



The first pigment on the paired fins consists of 

 a single melanophore on the lower proximal 

 external surface of the pectoral fin base. This 

 melanophore may appear as early as 4.8 mm, but 

 is not consistently present before ca. 8.6 mm. 

 Pectoral pigment subsequently changes little, 

 except that beginning at ca. 9.6 mm, mela- 

 nophores appear at the bases of the upper pec- 

 toral rays. The pelvic fins are unpigmented in 

 larvae but become heavily pigmented in small 

 juveniles. 



Transforming specimens are uniformly pig- 

 mented except for the residual melanistic bands 

 at the dorsal and ventral margins and along the 

 lateral midhne of the tail. Between 11 and 14 

 mm, a series of faint bars begins to appear, one 

 anterior to the dorsal fin, one below the spinous 

 dorsal, one below the transition from spinous to 

 soft dorsal, one below the soft dorsal, and one at 

 the caudal peduncle (Fig. 7C). The bars are 

 usually interrupted along the lateral midline and 

 variously developed below the midline, giving a 

 mottled appearance. The mottled appearance is 

 intensified when the bars begin to subdivide and 

 ultimately produce the 12 bars found in late ju- 

 veniles and adults. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Girella nigricans 



A total of 71 occurrences of G. nigricans lar- 

 vae were recorded from CalCOFI obhque plank- 

 ton tows during the period 1951-81 (Fig. 8). Lar- 

 vae were not found on survey cruises during 

 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1972. Identification of 

 some shorefish species was of variable compe- 

 tency during the early years of CalCOFI and this 

 may explain the apparent absence of G. ni- 

 gricans larvae in 1951, 1953, and 1955. Larvae 

 ranged from San Luis Obispo, CA (cruise 6907, 

 station 77.48) to San Cristobal Bay, Baja Cali- 

 fornia (cruise 5810, station 137.23) — the former 



station is the only record north of Pt. Concep- 

 tion, CA. Thirty-eight percent of the total occur- 

 rences were between Pt. Conception and the 

 Mexican border and 62% were off Baja Cali- 

 fornia. Larvae ranged seaward to ca. 330 km 

 (cruise 6407, station 93.70); however, 80% of the 

 occurrences were from station 40 shoreward on 

 the CalCOFI survey lines (typically <110 km 

 from the coast). Numbers of larvae sorted from 

 each sample were low, ranging from 1 to 5, with 

 a mean of 1.35 per positive tow. The standard- 

 ized mean number per positive tow was 4.0 with 

 a range of 0.3-17.5^ Girella nigricans is a highly 

 seasonal spawner with 80% of the larvae occur- 

 ring in summer months (June, 27%; July, 45%; 

 August, 8%). Larvae were not taken in Jan- 

 uary-March. 



The importance of the surface layer as a habi- 

 tat for G. nigricans larvae has not been as- 

 sessed; however, the addition of surface (Manta 

 net) tows on CalCOFI stations during the 1978 

 and 1981 surveys has provided some informa- 

 tion. Larvae occurred in nine surface tows in 

 1978 and in 11 tows during 1981. These occur- 

 rences compare with those from three positive 

 oblique tows in 1978 and one in 1981 and suggest 

 that 1) G. nigricans larvae may occur frequently 

 in the neuston and 2) they are undersampled by 

 oblique tows. The mean size of larvae taken in 

 surface nets is nearly twice that of larvae taken 

 in obhque tows. The mean larval length from 

 surface tows during 1978-81 was 7.1 mm ± 3.7 

 SD (range = 2.6-16.5 mm). The mean for oblique 

 tows during 1978-81 was 3.8 mm ± 1.69 SD 

 (range = 2.2-15.0 mm). 



Medialuna caUforniensis 



A total of 150 occurrences of M. calif orniensis 

 larvae were recorded on CalCOFI oblique plank- 

 ton tows during 1951-81 (Fig. 8). Larvae oc- 

 curred on all surveys except during 1953; the 

 apparent absence during 1953 probably was a 

 result of identification error. Larvae ranged 

 from off Monterey Bay, CA (cruise 5707, station 

 67.55) to off Pt. San Jaunico, Baja California 

 (cruise 6507, station 133.50). There were only 

 five occurrences north of Pt. Conception, CA, 

 during the 30 yr period; only one of these was 

 near the coast (Fig. 8). Except for two stations, 



'Standardized number adjusts for percent of sample sorted 

 and standard haul factor to give the number of larvae under 

 10" m of sea surface (see CalCOFI ichthyoplankton data 

 reports cited in Ambrose et al. 1988). 



764 



