FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 84, NO. 3 



tip of the upper jaw to the posterior margin of the 

 hypural bones. Xiphias larvae were measured from 

 the anterior margin of the eye to the posterior tip 

 of the notochord for eye notochord length (ENL) or 

 from the anterior margin of the eye to the posterior 

 margin of the hypural bones for eye standard length 

 (ESL). 



FAMILY SCOMBROLABRACIDAE 



Figure 1 



Thirty Scombrolabrax heterolepis larvae (2.9-10.4 

 mm NL or SL) were available. 



Development of the vertebral column initially 

 started in four places on the notochord: 1) antero- 

 dorsad (neural arches and spines of future centra 

 1-3), 2) posteroventrad (parhypural, hypurals), 3) 

 ventrad at the center (haemal arches and spines on 

 future centra 16-21), and 4) dorsad at the center 

 (neural arches and spines on future centra 12-28). 

 The anterior neural spines were added in a posterior 

 direction whereas the neural and haemal spines at 

 the center of the body were added anteriorly and 

 posteriorly. The two areas of neural spine develop- 

 ment coalesced around the eighth neural spine 

 anteriorly and just anterior to the hypural complex 

 posteriorly. The hypurals were added in a posterior 

 direction, but the parhypural and the two autoge- 

 nous haemal spines were added anteriorly (Table 2). 

 Ossification of the vertebral column in Scombrola- 

 brax initially started in one place with the ante- 

 riormost neural arches and spines and proceeded in 

 a posterior direction. The hypural complex was the 

 last along the vertebral column to start ossifying. 

 Vertebrae first ossified by forming saddles of bone 

 dorsad and ventrad around the notochord. As ossi- 

 fication proceeded the saddles merged laterally 

 forming an hourglass-shaped vertebra in the lateral 

 view. 



Cartilaginous second dorsal and anal fin pterygio- 

 phores developed first simultaneously above inter- 

 neural spaces 15-17 and below interhaemal spaces 

 16-19 before the anterior neural arches and spines 

 had coalesced. The addition of cartilaginous second 

 dorsal and anal fin pterygiophores was in an ante- 

 rior and posterior direction. First dorsal fin pteryg- 

 iophores appeared second above interneural spaces 

 4-7, to which pterygiophores were added anterior- 

 ly and posteriorly, terminating anteriorly in the 

 third interneural space and joining with the second 

 dorsal fin pterygiophores posteriorly. Dorsal and 

 anal fin rays and spines developed in the same se- 

 quence as their corresponding pterygiophores, but 

 a little later (Table 2). 



Scombrolabrax heterolepis does not develop pre- 

 dorsal bones. The first dorsal pterygiophore orig- 

 inated from one piece of cartilage and inserted in 

 the third interneural space supporting two fin spines 

 (one supernumerary spine). The first anal pterygio- 

 phore developed from two pieces of cartilage and 

 supported three spines (two supernumerary spines). 

 The posteriormost five or six dorsal and anal pte- 

 rygiophores had middle radials. The last dorsal and 

 anal pterygiophore supported a double ray and had 

 a nonbifurcated stay (Table 1). 



In S. heterolepis, first caudal development of the 

 cartilaginous parhypural and hypurals 1 and 2 was 

 concurrent with the anterior development of the 

 neural spines and the central appearance of haemal 

 spines. The hypural complex development was 

 described by Potthoff et al. (1980). Scombrolabrax 

 heterolepis had the basic perciform caudal skeleton 

 (Gosline 1968), with no hypural fusion observed in 

 adults. The neural and haemal elements of preural 

 centra 2 and 3 supported the procurrent caudal rays. 

 A procurrent spur was present on the posteriormost 

 ventral secondary caudal ray with a basally fore- 

 shortened ray anterior to it (Johnson 1975) (Table 1). 



FAMILY GEMPYLIDAE 



Figures 2-4 



One hundred and ten gempylids in 11 genera were 

 available: 33 Gempylus serpens (3.7-9.9, 160 mm NL 

 or SL), 2SNesiarchus nasutus, (2.6-10.2, 55, 242 mm 

 NL or SL), 7 Neoepinnula orientalis (3.3-7.1, 112 

 mm NL or SL), 11 Nealotus tripes (3.4-11.9, 24-140 

 mm NL or SL), 5 Lepidocybium flavobrunneum 

 (5.5-35.3 mm NL or SL), 5 Promethichthys prome- 

 theus (26.4-161 mm SL), 2 Rexea sp. (132, 155 mm 

 SL), 2 Ruvettus pretiosus (209, 212 mm SL), 1 

 Thyrsitops lepidopoides (160 mm SL), 16 

 Diplospinus multistriatus (3.4-13.5 mm NL or SL), 

 5 Thyrsites atun (= Leionura, 83-254 mm SL). Of 

 these, G. serpens, D. multistriatus, and TV. nasutus 

 yielded complete developmental series. 



Development of the vertebral column initially 

 started in three places on the notochord: 1) antero- 

 dorsad (neural arches and spines on future centra 

 1-6); 2) posteroventrad (hypurals); and 3) ventrad 

 at the center (anterior haemal arches and posterior 

 parapophyses). The neural arches and spines were 



Figure 1.— Schematic representation of vertebral column, dorsa 

 and anal fin, pterygiophore, and hypural development in Scorn 

 brolabrax heterolepis, Scombrolabracidae. Cartilage, white; ossi 

 fying, stippled. Scale represents interneural and interhaemal spac< 

 number and vertebra number. 



654 



