POTTHOFF ET AL.: DEVELOPMENT OF SCOMBROID FISHES 



2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 

 i I 1 I I I I I I I I I I i I I I — I i I I I I i i I i I I I I ii I I I I I 1 



5.3 mm NL 



TJS 



UnUHHUlHM 



6.1 mm NL 



I I I l i I l I l I I I l l i I l 



W^ 9.0 mm SL 



I I I I I I l I l I I i i i I i I i i l l i l I I l 



8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 



50 



Figure 12.— Schematic representation of vertebral column, dorsal and anal fin, pterygiophore, and hypural development in 

 Sarda sarda, Sardini, Scombridae. Cartilage, white; ossifying, stippled. Scale represents interneural and interhaemal space 

 number and vertebra number. 



(hypural complex). Our largest 9.0 mm SL specimen 

 showed ossification to the 11th neural spine. We do 

 not know if ossification in Sarda proceeds entirely 

 posteriad or if in Sarda, as in Scomber and Acantho- 

 cybium, there is some central ossification of neural 

 and haemal spines before the anterior ossification 

 has reached the center of the column. The hypural 

 complex started to ossify early at the time ossifica- 

 tion on the neural spines began anteriorly. Verte- 

 brae in Sarda had saddle-shaped ossifications similar 

 to those described for Scombrolabrax (Table 2). 



Cartilaginous first dorsal fin pterygiophores devel- 

 oped first anteriorly above interneural spaces 2-10 

 in the 8.1 mm SL specimen. Addition of cartilag- 

 inous first dorsal fin pterygiophores was in a poste- 

 rior direction. The 8.4 mm specimen had all first dor- 



sal fin pterygiophores and some second dorsal and 

 anal fin pterygiophores and they were continuous 

 with each other. Therefore, we are unable to deter- 

 mine if second dorsal and anal fin pterygiophores 

 in Sarda developed before first dorsal fin pteryg- 

 iophores were joined with the second dorsal fin 

 pterygiophores. Three first dorsal fin spines were 

 present in the 8.1 mm SL specimen, serially asso- 

 ciated with the first three pterygiophores. Addition 

 of first dorsal fin spines was in a posterior direc- 

 tion, except for the anteriormost first spine (super- 

 numerary), which developed later in the 9.0 mm SL 

 Sarda. Second dorsal and anal fin rays were not 

 developed in our 9.0 mm SL specimen. Our 59 mm 

 SL specimen had the full adult compliment of fin 

 rays (Table 2). 



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