136 Memoir Sears Foundation for Marine Research 



bands persisting until a length of about 75 mm. The dark longitudinal streaks of the 

 adults appearing shortly before crossbands become obscure. 



Sixe. Its maximum length is about 770 mm (31 in.) and its weight about 13 or 14 

 pounds. 



'Development}^ The eggs and the earliest stagesof the leptocephali remain unknown. 

 The youngest at hand, that is, the least developed larva, is apparently somewhat younger 

 than any yet described. It is 57 mm long (51 mm SL), was collected at Tortugas, Flor- 

 ida, and is the only one of the many that has the dorsal and anal fins entirely unde- 

 veloped. The pectoral fins appear as mere tufts of membrane and the pelvics only as a 

 thickening of the body wall where the bases are developing. The caudal fin, however, 

 is well developed with segmented rays, is broadly forked, and is about as long as the 

 head. This larva is sharply compressed, though not more so than considerably older 

 ones; its depth increases gradually backward from the head to about the beginning of 

 the distal fourth of the body, where it is contained 11.8 times in SL. Myomeres are 

 prominent, except anteriorly and posteriorly, and about 66 may be counted. The head 

 is low and moderately broad and is contained 16.4 times in SL. The snout is conical 

 and projects slightly beyond the mandible, the maxillary is not definitely formed, the 

 slightly oblique gape extends under the anterior part of the eye, and the eye is scarcely 

 as long as the snout, being contained in the head 4.1 times. The intestinal tract appears 

 to be a straight tube, is rather loosely attached to the body, has a slight groove on each 

 side, and extends nearly to the base of the lower lobe of the caudal. This old preserved 

 specimen, collected in 191 9, is now entirely without pigment. Several other specimens 

 from Tortugas and Cuba are only slightly more developed. 



Although leptocephali 75-87 mm long have been reported {28: 40)," the largest 

 one now at hand among several hundred from many localities along the Atlantic and 

 Pacific coasts of America is just 70 mm long (57 mm SL). In this specimen, one of a 

 large collection from the Pearl Islands, Panama Bay, the dorsal and anal fins are devel- 

 oped (showing at least most of the rays), and the fulcra may be fairly accurately enu- 

 merated. The dorsal fin is placed over about the beginning of the distal fifth of the body. 

 The anal is scarcely separated from the base of the lower caudal lobe. The pelvic fins 

 are developed but do not have definite rays and are placed at about midbody length 

 without the head, a position retained throughout life. The pectoral fins are fairly long, 

 with definite indications of rays. The body is deepest somewhat in advance of the dorsal 

 fin, and its depth there is contained 9.25 times in SL; 69 myomeres were counted. 

 No prominent changes in the head region are evident. The head is contained 14.4 

 times in the SL. The snout and eye are of about equal length, being 3.6 in head. The 

 jaws possess minute teeth that project somewhat forward. Two almost continuous dotted 

 dark lines bound the intestinal tract from behind the pectoral fins to the vent, being 



15. A detailed account of the development and distribution of young Albula, based on the Dana collections, has 

 recently been published by Alexander (Dana Rep., 5J, 1961). 



16. The fact that Albula has a "leptocephalus" larva was first ascertained about 1896 by Prof. C. H. Gilbert of Stan- 

 ford University. It seems he never published an account himself, but a synopsis of his findings, with his figures of 

 the developmental stages, was made known by Jordan {44) and Gill (2S: 43) — G. S. Myers. 



