FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 78, NO. 2 



1973). Mito (1960) described the eggs and hatched 

 larvae of C. hippurus, and Gibbs and Collette 

 (1959) described large larvae and juveniles of both 

 Coryphaena species. Hassler and Rainville de- 

 scribed the rearing techniques for C. hippurus 

 from planktonic eggs and the subsequent growth 

 to juveniles. Burnett- Herkes (1974) worked on C. 

 hippurus parasites of the gills and mouth. 



METHODS 



Size series of 400 specimens of each species were 

 cleared and stained by the enzyme method of 

 Taylor (1967). The bones of four adult specimens 

 (two C. hippurus and two C equiselis) were 

 prepared by boiling in water and removing the 

 boiled flesh. Almost all specimens had been caught 

 in the west Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and the 

 Caribbean. A few specimens were from the mid- 

 Atlantic, the east Atlantic, and the east Pacific. 



For each fin and fin support system, a repre- 

 sentative size series was chosen for each species 

 from the cleared and stained material (Table 1). 

 Thus, the same specimen did not necessarily 

 contribute to each of the series. 



The terms preflexion, flexion, and postflexion 

 refer to the flexion state of the notochord in the 

 caudal region during larval development. They 

 are used to describe and highlight larval stages 

 based on Ahlstrom et al. (1976). 



Only cleared and stained specimens were mea- 

 sured. Preserved larvae were usually too dis- 

 torted for accurate measurements, but were easily 

 straightened and measured after clearing and 

 staining. Measurements were to the nearest 0.1 of 

 a millimeter using a calibrated ocular micrometer 



^Hassler, W. W., and R. P Rainville. 1975. Techniques for 

 hatching and rearing dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus, through 

 larvae and juvenile stages. Univ. N.C., Sea Grant Program 

 UNC-SG-75-31, 17 p. 



Table l. — Number and length range (in millimeters NL or SL) 

 of cleared and stained specimens of Coryphaena spp. used for 

 study of individual fins and their support structures. 



for the smaller specimens (< 20 mm SL) and dial 

 calipers for the larger ones. Each measurement 

 was either notochord length ( NL, from the anterior 

 tip of the upper jaw to the posteriormost tip of the 

 notochord) for preflexion and early flexion larvae, 

 or standard length ( SL, from the anterior tip of the 

 upper jaw to the posteriormost edge of the hypural 

 bones) for late flexion and postflexion larvae, 

 juveniles, and adults. 



All specimens were examined in 100% glycerin 

 under a binocular microscope, and illustrations 

 were drawn with the help of a camera lucida. 

 Ossification was determined from the uptake of 

 alizarin. Very light uptake (pink) of alizarin in a 

 structure was considered as onset of ossification. 

 Cartilage was determined by the presence of 

 structure but absence of red stain, and viewed by 

 carefully manipulating the illumination with the 

 substage mirror. Specimens from which organic 

 calcium had leached due to acid Formalin did not 

 stain and were not used. 



The caudal complex terminologies follow Gosline 

 (1961a, b), Nybelin (1963), and Monod (1968). 



Counts of pterygiophores and fin rays include 

 very small and vestigial structures such as fin 

 rays that consisted only of a left or right half, or of 

 two pieces not joined at the center. 



RESULTS 



Vertebral Column 



The development and structure of the vertebral 

 column was not examined in this study. However, 

 it was noted that development is similar in all 

 respects for the two Coryphaena species as it was 

 reported for Thunnus atlanticus (Potthoff 1975). 



Neural and haemal spines developed from car- 

 tilage before pterygiophores, but were difficult to 

 count accurately. In small specimens (5.9-6.3 mm 

 NL) intern eural and interhaemal space numbers 

 were estimated from myomere counts. 



Dorsal Fin 



The fully developed dorsal fin of C hippurus 

 has 58-66 rays (N = 99, x = 61.3, SE = 0.17, 

 24-172 mm SL) and that of C. equiselis 52-59 rays 

 (N = 113, 3c = 55.0, SE = 0.15, 18-230 mm SL). 

 Adult counts for C. hippurus are obtained be- 



■* Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 



278 



