342 



Fishery Bulletin 90(2), 1992 



CYNOGLOSSUS LIDA 



MALE-1 (N: 91) 



6.1% 4.4% 



FEMALE-1 (N 69) 



5.4% 



9.4% 



15% 



81.5% 



MALE-2 (N: 211) 



6.1% 4.6% 



702% 



FEMALE-2 (N: 136) 



9.9% 



4.6% 



9.1% 



1 9.2% V 



18.3% 



61% 



MALE-3 (N: 284) 

 5.6% 3.4% 



67.2% 



FEMALE-3 (N: 260) 



63%. 3.8% 



10.1% 



13.5% 



8.6% 



67.4% 



MALE-4 (N: 1 1 1) 



11,1% 3.7% 



81.3% 



FEMALE-4 (N: 144) 



11% 



14.4% 



1 1 .6% 



70.8% 



MALE-5 (N; 21) 



7.6% 



52.6% 



89% 



FEMALE-5 (N 31) 



7.3% 2.5% 



28.2% 



■ PO 



m PR 



□ CF 



a Fs 



n Ml 



90.2% 



Figure 4 



Percentage contribution of food items to the diet of various size groups of male and female 

 Cynoglossvs lida caught commercially off Porto Novo, India, October 1981 -September 

 1982. Male-1 (n 91) and Female-1 (w 69) = size group 95-136 mm TL; Male-2 {n 211) 

 and Female-2 (n 136) = 137-157 mm TL; Male-3 (n 284) and Female-3 (n 260) = 

 158-178 mm TL; Male-4 (n 1 11) and Female-4 (w 144) = 179-199mmTL; and Male-5 (w 

 21) and Female-5 (n 31) = 200-262 mm TL. Only values >5% IRI are individually shown; 

 values <5% IRI are clumped together into a single category, the unshaded wedge of 

 the pie chart. PO = polychaetes, PR = prawns, CF = crustacean fragments, FS = 

 fish scales, MI = miscellaneous. 



male and female C arel is shown 

 in Figure 5. All other food items 

 occurred sporadically (Tables 

 1-2). 



In male C. lida, polychaetes 

 were the dominant prey for 9 

 months (Table 3). In the remain- 

 ing months, crustacean frag- 

 ments (January and December) 

 and prawns (May) dominated. In 

 females, polychaetes were the 

 primary food item for every 

 month, except in January and 

 December when crustacean frag- 

 ments were the most important 

 prey item (Table 4). 



Prawns were next in impor- 

 tance in both sexes of C. lida. In 

 males, prawns formed the sec- 

 ondary prey item except in Feb- 

 ruary, May, July, October, and 

 December. During these 5 

 months, fish remains (February, 

 October, and December), poly- 

 chaetes (May), and amphipods 

 (July) were the secondary prey. 

 In females, prawns were the 

 secondary food, except in August 

 and October-December. During 

 these 4 months, amphipods (Aug- 

 ust and November), fish remains 

 (October), and fish eggs (Decem- 

 ber) were consumed by females. 

 The tertiary food group in the 

 diet of male and female C. lida 

 is shown in Figure 5. Organisms 

 of lesser importance are listed in 

 Tables 3-4. 



Gastro- (Gl) and hepatosomatic 

 (HI) Indices and occurrence of 

 empty stomachs In relation to 

 spawning In male C arel, a 

 peak occurrence of empty stom- 

 achs (Fig. 6) occurred in January, 

 which is the peak spawning 

 period. Lowest gastro- and hepa- 

 tosomatic indices were also ob- 

 served in January (Fig. 6). How- 

 ever, over the rest of the year, 

 these factors did not appear to be 

 related. The gastro- and hepato- 

 somatic indices did not track the 

 percentage occurrence of empty 

 stomachs throughout the year. 



