Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 



137 



interrupted only at the point of insertion of the pelvics; and a vertical series of dark 

 dots is present on the caudal base. Living larvae of this size, and considerably older 

 ones as well, are as transparent as glass. They appear as shining objects in the net and 

 are easily overlooked, only the dark eyes being at all conspicuous. 



Older larvae of 45 mm (39 mm SL), though still sharply compressed, are much 

 more substantial than younger ones at a length of 70 mm or so. The dorsal and anal 

 fins have moved forward considerably, the anal fin now being separated from the caudal 



Figure 23. Albula vulpes. Pearl Island, Pacific Panama, USNM 128391. a Leptocephalus stage, 68 mm long; 

 B older larva in transition stage, 76 mm TL; c older fry 30 mm TL. Drawn by Nancy D. Patton. 



by at least half the length of the head. The greatest body depth, at the origin of the 

 dorsal, is contained 7.6 times in SL. The myomeres total 70-72. The head remains 

 rather low and broad and is contained 6.0 times in the length; the snout projects beyond 

 the mandible more prominently and is now rather longer than the eye, 4.0 times in 

 head; and the maxillary is fairly well developed, extending well beyond the anterior 

 margin of the eye, 2.4 in head. The color remains as in the younger fish described, 

 except that a few dark chromatophores have appeared about the head, and a slightly 

 broken dark line has developed on both upper and lower lobes of the caudal. 



Larvae 32 mm long (26 mm SL) are the smallest in the study collections that may 

 be classed as leptocephali. The body remains strongly compressed, though of course 

 more robust and more substantial than in the 45-mm fish described above, and it has 

 become more elongate, the depth at the dorsal origin being contained 8.4 times in SL. 

 The dorsal and anal fins have continued to move forward, but they still remain more 

 posteriorly placed than in the adult; the origin of the dorsal is somewhat nearer to the 

 base of the caudal than to the tip of the snout and is approximately over the pelvic 



