LAROCHE: DEVELOPMENT OF LARVAL SMOOTH FLOUNDER 



to hatch (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953), larval 

 flounders collected from Montsweag Bay in early 

 March 1974 were tentatively identified as L. put- 

 nami. Yolk-sac larvae hatched from artificially 

 spawned L. putnami eggs appeared identical to 

 the field-collected larvae. Since the artificially 

 spawned larvae were few and did not live beyond 

 yolk absorption, larvae were collected from 

 Montsweag Bay and reared in the laboratory to 

 verify the identification. These larvae attained the 

 adult dorsal and anal fin ray complement of L. 

 putnami during the postflexion stage, verifying 

 the identification. In April 1974, small yolk-sac 

 flounder larvae matching descriptions of P. 

 americanus (Martin and Drewry 1978) appeared 

 in plankton samples collected from Montsweag 



Bay. Two of these larvae were reared in the 

 laboratory to the postflexion stage and attained 

 the adult dorsal and anal fin ray complements of P. 

 americanus. 



Counts that identify L. putnami and P. 

 americanus (34-38 and 34-40 vertebrae, 48-60 

 and 60-76 dorsal fin rays, and 34-41 and 44-58 

 anal fin rays, respectively) were compiled from 

 Jordan and Evermann (1898), Norman (1934), 

 Bigelow and Schroeder (1953), Leim and Scott 

 (1966), and this study. 



LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS 



Fertilized L. putnami eggs were nonadhesive 

 and demersal in 23%o water. Eggs ranged in diam- 



3.6 mm 



4.8 mm 



5.0 mm 



Figure L— Yolk-sac larvae ofLiopsetta putnami. 



899 



