392 



Fishery Bulletin 89(3). 1991 



1.0 m 



m 



B 



Figure 4 



Eggs oiXystreurys liolepis: (A) stage VIII (LACM 039 88 22 OB 02S), (B) dorsal view of em- 

 bryo, stageVIII (LACM 039 88 22 OB 02S), (C,D) stage IX (LACM 050 88 22 OB 01S), (E,F) 

 stage X (LACM 050 88 15 OB 01P). 



The eggs of most fishes in 

 the Southern California 

 Bight have not been de- 

 scribed; however, the LACM 

 ichthyoplankton group has 

 designated types for the 

 later stages (VII-XI) of 

 eggs commonly collected in 

 the nearshore zone. At these 

 stages, Paralichthys cali- 

 fornicus and Xystreurys 

 liolepis can be separated 

 from the other egg types 

 based on chorion size and 

 texture, yolk homogeneity, 

 oil globule size and position, 

 and pigmentation patterns 

 on the embryo, yolk, and oil 

 globule. Prior to stage VII, 

 identifications are not yet 

 possible. 



Descriptions of the two 

 species are based primarily 

 on field-collected material; 

 reared material also was 

 examined. No differences 

 were noted in the sizes of 

 chorion, yolk, or oil globules 

 between the field and 

 reared eggs of either spe- 

 cies. Developmental differ- 

 ences of field and reared 

 material for early-stage 

 eggs (less than stage VII) 

 were not determined be- 

 cause of the inability to 

 identify the early-stage eggs 

 from the field material. Pig- 

 mentation was similar for 

 field and reared specimens 

 of later stage (VII-X) eggs 

 of both taxa. The field ma- 

 terial, however, contained 

 stage X eggs of both spe- 

 cies, whereas the reared 

 material hatched at stage 

 IX. 



Information is available 

 on the eggs of three other 

 species of Paralichthys: P. 

 dentatus (Smith and Fahay 

 1970), P. olivaceus (Pert- 

 seva-Ostroumova 1961 and 

 Mito 1963) and P. microps 

 (Munoz et al. 1988). Eggs 



