195 



Abstract — The Argentine sandperch 

 Pseudopercis semifasciata (Pinguipe- 

 didae) sustains an important commer- 

 cial and recreational fishery in the 

 northern Patagonian gulfs of Argen- 

 tina. We describe the morphological 

 features of larvae and posttransition 

 juveniles of P. semifasciata and ana- 

 lyze the abundance and distribution 

 of early life-history stages obtained 

 from 19 research cruises conducted on 

 the Argentine shelf between 1978 and 

 2001. Pseudopercis semifasciata larvae 

 were distinguished from other larvae 

 by the modal number of myomeres 

 (between 36 and 38), their elongated 

 body, the size of their gut, and by 

 osteological features of the neuro- and 

 branchiocranium. Pseudopercis semi- 

 fasciata and Pinguipes brasilianus 

 (the other sympatric species of pin- 

 guipedid fishes) posttransition juve- 

 niles were distinguished by their head 

 shape, pigmentation pattern, and by 

 the number of spines of the dorsal fin 

 (five in P. semifasciata and seven in 

 P. brasilianus). The abundance and 

 distribution of P. semifasciata at 

 early stages indicate the existence 

 of at least three offshore reproductive 

 grounds between 42-43°S, 43-44°S, 

 and 44-45°S, and a delayed spawning 

 pulse in the southern stocks. 



Early life history of the Argentine sandperch 

 Pseudopercis semifasciata (Pinguipedidae) 

 off northern Patagonia 



Leonardo A. Venerus 



Centra Nacional Patagonico-Conseio Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas 

 Boulevard Brown s/n, (U9120ACV) 

 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina 

 E-mail address leoigicenpat edu ar 



Laura Machinandiarena 



Martin D. Ehrlich 



Institute Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo Pesquero 



PO Box 175, (B7602HSA) 



Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina 



Ana M. Parma 



Centra Nacional Patagonico-Conseio Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas 

 Boulevard Brown s/n, (U9120ACV) 

 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina 



Manuscript submitted 20 November 2003 

 to the Scientific Editor's Office. 



Manuscript approved for publication 



16 September 2004 by the Scientific Editor. 



Fish. Bull. 103:195-206 (2005). 



The family Pinguipedidae (Osteich- 

 thyes, Perciformes) includes six genera 

 and about 50 marine species and one 

 freshwater species (Froese and Pauly, 

 2004). On the Argentine continental 

 shelf this family is represented by 

 two species, Pseudopercis setJiifasciata 

 (Cuvier, 1829) and Pinguipes brasilia- 

 nus Cuvier, 1829. 



The Argentine sandperch P. semi- 

 fasciata is an important incidental 

 catch in the bottom trawl and long- 

 line commercial fisheries that target 

 hake (Merluccius hubbsi) in the north- 

 ern Patagonian coast off Argentina 

 (Otero et al., 1982; Elias and Bur- 

 gos, 1988; Gonzalez, 1998). In recent 

 years, the reported annual landings 

 have oscillated between 1900 and 

 3780 metric tons (official statistics, 

 SAGPyA-DNPyA 1 ). In northern Pata- 

 gonia, P. semifasciata is also targeted 

 by sport anglers and spear fishermen 

 and represents a tourist attraction 

 for recreational divers. It inhabits 

 rocky and sandy bottoms, from 23°S 

 in Brazil to 47°S in Argentina (Cous- 

 seau and Perrotta, 2000), mainly in 

 coastal waters, although it has been 

 found in depths of up to 100 m (Mene- 

 zes and Figueiredo, 1985). 



Very little is known about the ecol- 

 ogy and behavior of P. setnifasciata, 

 and most of what is known is based 

 on limited observations during un- 

 derwater visual censuses on shal- 

 low reefs where adults concentrate 

 (Gonzalez, 1998). Previous studies 

 have focused on morphological fea- 

 tures (Herrera and Cousseau, 1996; 

 Rosa and Rosa, 1997; Gosztonyi and 

 Kuba 2 ), age and growth (Elias and 

 Burgos, 1988; Fulco, 1996; Gonzalez, 

 1998), diet (Elias and Rajoy, 1992; 

 Gonzalez, 2002), and reproductive 

 traits, including reproductive sea- 

 son, spawning modality, and age at 

 first maturity (Macchi et al., 1995; 



SAGPyA-DNPyA. 2003. Capturas 

 maritimas totales 1992-2002. Manu- 

 script, 71 p. [Available from Sec- 

 retaria de Agricultura, Ganaderia y 

 Pesca de la Nacion, Direccibn de Pesca 

 y Acuicultura, Paseo Colon 982 P.B. 

 Of. 59 - (C1063ACW) Buenos Aires, 

 Argentina.] http://www.sagpya.mecon. 

 gov.ar (Accessed July 2004. J 

 Gosztonyi, A. E„ and L. Kuba. 1996. At- 

 las de huesos craneales y de la cintura 

 escapular de peces costeros patagonicos. 

 Inf. Tec. FPN 4, 29 p. [Available from 

 CENPAT, Blvd. Brown s/n (U9120ACV), 

 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.) 



