538 



Fishery Bulletin 92(3). 1994 



(Legendre, 1944), Hydrolagus colliei (Dean, 1906), 

 and Callorhynchus milii (Gorman, 1963). 



Spermatophores 



The presence of a "seminal plug" has been reported 

 in C. milii (Norman, 1937). Males of C. monstrosa 

 form an emerald green substance in the terminal 

 portion of the deferent ducts, but seminal plugs in 

 females have not been reported (Legendre, 1944). 

 There is no seminal plug in H. colliei, in which copu- 

 lation occurs just before eggs are laid (Dean, 1906). 

 On the basis of our examination of C. callorhyn- 

 chus, we suggest that the term "plug" is improper. It 

 is a seminal mass located in the female's seminal 

 receptacle that does not obstruct the genital ducts 

 and remains in the receptacle during the entire re- 

 productive cycle. The coloration of the spermatophores 

 in the cloaca changes progressively from an intense 

 green to yellow as the spermatophores are mobilized. 



Spawning ground 



Although we demonstrated seasonality in the mat- 

 ing activity of C. callorhynchus, it was not possible 

 to establish where spawning takes place. Quinn et 

 al. (1980) suggested that adults ofH. colliei migrate 

 to shallow waters during the night. Eighty-five egg 

 cases ofH. colliei were found at a depth of 11 m, but 

 one capsule was found at 120 m (Dean, 1906). 

 Callorhynchus monstrosa spawns at about 100 m 

 (Legendre, 1944); based on its bathymetric distribu- 

 tion ( 100 to 1700 m), it can be assumed that this spe- 

 cies also migrates to the relatively shallow areas to 

 spawn. Females of C milii lay eggs between the surf 

 zone and 37 m, in sand or mud substrata, and move 

 to deeper water after spawning (Gorman, 1963). 



Callorhynchus callorhynchus was caught at depths 

 shallower than 170 m in the San Matias Gulf (Di 

 Giacomo, 1992). Egg cases were found between 20- 

 40 m and at 104 m, suggesting that this species may 

 also migrate to shallow water to spawn. Further stud- 

 ies are required to document more conclusively the 

 spawning behavior of females. 



Acknowledgments 



We wish to thank Miriam Fernandez, Oscar Iribarne, 

 and Ted Pietsch (University of Washington, Seattle) 

 for criticism of an earlier version of the manuscript; 

 comments from R. Hardy, two anonymous referees, 

 and Lobo Orensanz and Ana Parma were helpful in 

 shaping the final version. This research was sup- 

 ported by the Ministry of Economics ( Rio Negro Prov- 

 ince), the National University of the Comahue, and 



the National Secretary of Science and Technology 

 (Argentine). 



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