ANDERSON: ZOARCIDAE 



579 



Development 



As far as known, almost all eelpouts are oviparous, laying 

 relatively few. large eggs. The exception is the genus Zoarces. 

 which is viviparous. There are three species of Zoarces, the 

 common European eelpout, Z. viviparus (Linnaeus), and two 

 little known, northwestern Pacific species, Z. gillii Jordan and 

 Starks and Z. ekmgatus Kner. Viviparity in the European eel- 

 pout has been known since the Middle Ages (Schonevelde. 1624). 

 but of the two Pacific species, females with embryos are known 

 only in Z. gillii (Anderson. 1984). 



Among benthic, oviparous species, nest building with parental 

 guardianship is probably common. Nesting has been directly 

 observed in Macrozoarces americanns (Olsen and Merriman, 

 1946), Gymnelns viridis (Emery, 1973), Lycodes pacificus (Lev- 

 ings, 1969) and Phucocoetes latitans and Ihiocoetes effusus 

 (Gosztonyi, 1977). Probably most, if not all, the other South 



American intertidal zoarcids discussed by Gosztonyi also build 

 and guard nest sites. Pelagic spawning occurs in Lycodapus and 

 Melanostigma. Markle and Wenner( 1 979) found Melanostigma 

 ailanticum may utilize the sea bottom as a concentration in- 

 terface for group spawning. Bottom trawl-caught ripe individ- 

 uals had parasite loads more typical of deep-demersal fishes in 

 the western North Atlantic. However, Anderson (1981) reported 

 Lycodapus mandihularis to have a parasite fauna similar to 

 other midwater fishes in Monterey Bay, California. Early ju- 

 veniles were caught in midwater at all depths inhabited by adults. 

 This suggests L. mandihularis does not shoal near the bottom 

 for spawning. 



Eggs 



Spawned zoarcid eggs have been described from field obser- 

 vations for only seven species (Table 1 50). Egg descriptions are 



Table 149. Extended. 



