POWLES: DESCRIPTIONS OF LARVAL SILVER PERCH, BANDED DRUM, AND STAR DRUM 



Table 3. — Body proportions (percentage of NL or SL) of larval Bairdiella chrysoura. Specimens between dashed lines undergoing 



notochord flexion; lengths are NL above upper dashed line, SL below. 



3 1 

 35 

 36 

 37 

 37 

 38 



87 

 6.8 

 74 

 74 

 63 

 7.4 



100 

 10.3 



9.8 

 106 

 10.5 



95 



30 



31 

 276 

 308 

 273 

 28.7 



425 

 41 3 

 404 

 41 4 

 400 

 446 



350 

 31 

 308 



31 9 



32 1 

 329 



Table 4. — Fin element counts of larval Bairdiella chrysoura. 

 Specimens between dashed lines undergoing notochord flexion; 

 lengths are NL above upper dashed line, SL below. 



' - = fin present, no developed elements 



notochortd flexion and attain adult complements at 

 >4.8 mm. The spinous dorsal begins development 

 between 5.0 and 5.7 mm; spine development is 

 rapid, with the adult complement present at 5.7 

 mm. Pelvic fins are first present at 5.7 mm and 

 adult element complements are present at 2^7.0 

 mm. 



Pigmentation. Larvae are characterized by an 

 oblique swath of internal and external pigment, 

 paralleling the cleithrum. from nape to cleithral 

 symphysis (Figure 1). Melanophores of several 

 areas constitute this swath: in the musculature of 



the nape, on the anterior and dorsal surfaces of the 

 visceral mass, ventral to the brain, and on the 

 ventral body surface. In small larvae (<5.0 mm), 

 melanophores in these areas are usually ex- 

 panded, so that a continuous swath of pigment is 

 formed. Occasionally melanophores may be con- 

 tracted, but are always present in the areas listed. 

 In large larvae (&5.0 mm), melanophores of these 

 areas are more frequently contracted than in 

 smaller larvae, and thickening of the body wall 

 begins to obscure some of the swath pigment. 



Pigment of the ventral midline of the tail begins 

 as a continuous row of small melanophores in the 

 smallest larvae and develops into a characteristic 

 sequence of melanophores with growth. About 10 

 melanophores are present at 3.1-3.8 mm; one of 

 these (two-thirds of the distance from anus to 

 notochord tip) is larger than the others. In the 

 dorsal midline of the tail, a few specimens =£3.5 

 mm NL have a small melanophore dorsal to the 

 large melanophore of the ventral midline. At 5^4. 1 

 mm, melanophores of the ventral row are placed as 

 follows: one or two anterior to the anal base, one at 

 the origin of the anal fin, one at its termination, 

 and three or four posterior to the anal fin. In most 

 specimens 5=7.0 mm, no pigment is present an- 

 terior to the anal base, but the rest of the sequence 

 remains, and small melanophores begin to appear 

 at the bases of individual rays. 



Other head and visceral mass pigmentation 

 characterizes these larvae. A melanophore is 

 present at the angle of the lower jaw throughout 

 the series. Pigment is present at the tip of the 



123 



