FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 80, NO. 1 



females). Capture of a ripe female from the same 

 area in June was reported by Topp and Hoff 

 (1972). Christmas and Waller (1973) suggested 

 that spawning may be nearly continuous 

 throughout the year. However, that observation 

 was partly based on the occurrence of one juve- 

 nile specimen during January and another dur- 

 ing February that could have been spawned in 

 the late summer or early fall. Therefore, the sea- 

 son may extend beyond August, but the evidence 

 is not yet complete. 



Comparisons 



Larval Characters 



Morphology seems to be influenced by the en- 

 vironment and duration of larval existence. Cith- 

 arichthys cornutus and C. gymnorhinus are 

 found in deeper water and may have longer pel- 

 agic larval stages than C. spilopterus or E. cros- 

 sotus. In some respects, the latter two species are 

 similar to each other and dissimilar to the first 

 two. Citharichthys spilopterus and E. crossotus 

 have only two elongate dorsal rays, as opposed to 

 three in the other two species. They have smaller, 

 less conspicuous frontal-sphenotic spines, and 

 fewer larval teeth. (However, the jaws of C. spil- 

 opterus later grow at a relatively fast rate and 

 acquire correspondingly more adult teeth.) Dur- 

 ing transformation, the origin of the dorsal fin is 

 slightly farther forward relative to the right eye 

 in C. cornutus and C. gymnorhinus than in the 

 other two species. (However, after transforma- 

 tion the dorsal origin is more anterior relative to 

 the right eye in all three Citharichthys species 

 than in E. crossotus.) Citharichthys spilopterus 

 and E. crossotus larvae have smaller eyes and 

 mouths than the other two. They also complete 

 transformation at a smaller size. 



Known similarities among Citharichthys lar- 

 vae that are not shared with Etropus larvae 

 include the absence of a pectoral melanophore 

 (except possibly in C. macrops), less extensive 

 internal notochordal pigmentation, and, later, 

 more gill rakers. Except for a shallower body 

 and smaller eyes, C. arctifrons larvae are mor- 

 phologically similar to those of C. cornutus and 

 C. gymnorhinus. Etropus microstomus larvae are 

 similar to those of E. crossotus. 



Larval Occurrence 



Differences among distributions of larvae 



(Append. Table 5) can be helpful in identifying 

 them to species. Months of occurrence of larvae 

 reported here are those in which larvae have 

 been collected throughout the ranges of the re- 

 spective species (except that data for C. macrops 

 are from the southern part of its range, and data 

 for C. arctifrons and C. arenaceus are from the 

 northern parts of their ranges). Because most 

 sampling was not continuous throughout the 

 year, presence in other months is not precluded; 

 however, enough is known to delineate approxi- 

 mate spawning seasons for most of the species. 

 Larval occurrence of C. cornutus, C. gymno- 

 rhinus, C. spilopterus, and E. crossotus was dis- 

 cussed in the earlier species' accounts. 



Throughout their ranges, E. microstomus 

 spawns from March through August and E. 

 rimosus spawns from September to April (Leslie 

 1977). Leslie suggested that spawning of the two 

 species may be temporally distinct. This con- 

 flicts with spawning of E. microstomus reported 

 from May to December (Richardson and Joseph 

 1973), and my information is not sufficient to re- 

 solve this conflict. However, Scherer and Bourne 

 (1980) collected E. microstomus eggs in Septem- 

 ber and larvae in October in Block Island Sound, 

 which is north of the reported adult range (Table 

 1). In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, larvae of E. 

 rimosus smaller than 4 mm NL were common in 

 November, January, February, and May (Dowd 

 1978). 



Small juveniles (>13 mm SL) of C. abbotti were 

 caught in the Gulf of Mexico from Veracruz to 

 Campeche, Mexico, in June and September 

 (Dawson 1969), indicating a spawning season 

 approximately from May through August, or 

 longer. 



Citharichthys macrops larvae smaller than 4 

 mm NL were caught in the eastern gulf in May 

 and November (Dowd 1978). Topp and Hoff 

 (1972) reported juveniles from the same part of 

 the gulf during the fall and winter. The season 

 probably extends from May through November, 

 and possibly longer. 



Richardson and Joseph (1973) reported a 

 spawning season approximately from May to 

 December for C. arctifrons in the Chesapeake 

 Bight, with peak spawning from July through 

 October. 



Dawson ( 1969) reported a 27 mm SL specimen 

 of C. arenaceus caught in the British West Indies 

 in November. This may indicate summer spawn- 

 ing, probably during August or September at 

 least. 



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