WATSON ET AL.: TRACHINOIDEA 



561 



mode (Tables 135 and 139) typical of the mainne percoids, one 

 shares with the other Blennioidei the condition of spawning non- 

 pelagic egg masses. Among the pelagic spawners, four retain the 

 percoid-like condition of early hatching of poorly-differentiated 

 larvae; two share with the demersal spawners the condition of 

 a relatively long incubation and hatching of well developed lar- 

 vae with pigmented eyes. 



The larvae of four families are moderately deep-bodied, a 

 character shared with the majority of percoids. Each of these 

 families (except Trachinidac) contains at least some species with 

 myomeres numbering in the mid-to-upper twenties: typical per- 

 coid counts. Five trachinoid families resemble blennioids in 

 having elongate larvae, usually with more than 30 myomeres. 



All trachinoid larvae (except some Trachinidae) follow the 

 typical perciform pattern of beginning caudal fin ossification 

 first; lai^ae of five families follow the percoid pattern of begin- 

 ning ossification of dorsal and anal fin rays before pectoral and 

 pelvic fin rays. Four families share with the other blennioids 

 the early acquisition of pectoral and/or pelvic fin rays. All tra- 

 chinoid families share with the other blennioids the jugular 

 placement of pelvic fins, but only one family (not all species) 

 also shares the blennioid condition of fewer than five pelvic fin 

 rays. 



Larval pigmentation and preopercular spination of the Tra- 

 chinoidea (Table 139) are difficult to assess, since both range 

 from absent to highly developed in both the Percoidei and Blen- 

 nioidei. The distribution of these characters is listed in Table 

 1 39 to aid in determining relationships among the Trachinoidca. 



Based solely on early life history characters (Table 1 39), the 

 Uranoscopidae and Mugiloididae (including Cheimarrhichthyi- 

 dae?) appear to be the most percoid-like members of the Tra- 

 chinoidca, while Trichodontidae are most like the other Blen- 

 nioidei. Two points become clear in considering the contribution 

 of early life history to the understanding of trachinoid phylog- 

 eny: (1) the Trachinoidea is a very diverse, probably polyphy- 

 letic, group; and (2) much more early life history data are needed 

 before any substantial contribution can be made to the under- 

 standing of this group. 



(W.W.) Marine Ecological Consultant.s. 531 Encinitas 

 BouLEVARtJ, Suite 110, Encinitas, California 92024; 

 (A.C.M.) National Marine Fisheries Service, North- 

 west AND Alaska Fisheries Center, 2725 Montlake 

 Boulevard Ea.st, Seattle, Washington 98112; (E.G.S.) 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries 

 Center, PO Box 271, La Jolla, California 92038. 



Notothenioidea: Development and Relationships 



E. G. Stevens, W. Watson and A. C. Matarese 



NOTOTHENIOIDEA comprises 5 families with 35 genera 

 and about 100 species (Table 140). These familes are 

 endemic to the Antarctic and Subantarctic regions (DeWitt, 

 1971; Norman, 1938a; Wyanski and Targett. 1981). Adults, 

 ranging from 100 to 900 mm SL, occupy several habitats from 

 the surface to several hundred meters depth and are often as- 

 sociated with continental and island slopes and shelves. Some 

 species are adapted for living close to the undersurface of ice. 

 Discussions of the systematic position of notothenioids are 

 found in Gosline (1968) and Norman (1938a), who consider 

 them Perciformes or perciform relatives on the basis of the 

 adult cranial osteology; the jugular position of the pelvic fins, 

 which have one spine and five rays; and the caudal fin ray 

 number, usually 14. Both note the reduced number of pectoral 

 radials found in Notothenioidea. Gosline (1968) unites the no- 

 tothenioids with trachinoids and blennioids using characters 

 such as the one to one ratio of vertebrae to dorsal and anal fin 



rays, more than 2 5 vertebrae, and fewer than 1 5 branched caudal 

 rays. Gosline ( 1 968), Norman ( 1 938a), and other recent workers 

 (i.e., Andersen and Hureau, 1979) separate Nototheniidae and 

 Harpagiferidae making a total of five families (this classification 

 is used here), whereas Nelson (1976) follows Berg (1940) and 



Table 141. Notothenioidea: Egg Diameter (mm) and Larval Size 

 at Selected Developmental Stages (mm SL). 



Table 140. Notothenioidea: General Summary and Early Life History Information. 



