Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 239 



The juvenile color of this same specimen and of others of about equal size consists 

 of a few dark dots over the nostrils, a group of similar dark dots at the occiput, and 

 more or less definite rows on the back. Scattered dark points, present at and on the 

 base of the caudal, extend prominently on the outer rays of the fin, which already has 

 a dusky margin that remains throughout life. A series of prominent black spots along 

 each side of the anal base continues in a single series on the peduncle behind the anal; 

 a few scattered dark dots are present on the side of the head and on the isthmus. This 

 small example, then, is definitely beyond the larval stage and is perhaps a young adult. 



The juvenile is slender, as is usual among clupeid fishes. In three specimens, 19, 

 19.5, and 20 mm SL, the depth is respectively 9.0, 9.5, and 9.3 times in SL; in a 

 group of six, ranging between 27-33 mm SL, the proportionate depth already has in- 

 creased and is 8.5-6.5 in SL; and in an additional group of five, 32-50 mm SL, the 

 depth is 6.5-5.45 in SL. Measurements of larger fish indicate that the body tends 

 to become proportionately deeper as long as the fish grows. 



The teeth in the jaws are well developed but remain minute in specimens around 

 25 mm SL. They do not become large (for an anchovy) and unequal in size (the chief 

 distinguishing characters of Lycengraulis) until the fish attains about 65 mm SL. 



In fish 25 mm SL, the snout already projects well beyond the mandible, about 

 as in the adult, and the maxillary is now somewhat pointed and reaches to a point 

 approximately opposite the joint of the mandible. The axillary scale of the pectoral, 

 not detected in the smaller specimens described, is now evident and reaches about to 

 the midlength of the pectoral ; this axillary process, though rather variable in length, 

 reaches far beyond the midlength of this fin in adults, generally to or beyond the be- 

 ginning of its distal third. 



The juvenile color markings are retained about as described for the 1 9-mm fish 

 until a standard length of at least 40 mm is attained. Even then the juvenile markings 

 remain in large part. However, the sides of the head and the abdomen, in part, have 

 become silvery. A very narrow indistinct silvery lateral band has become evident, and 

 this increases rapidly in proportionate width, being prominent and as broad as the eye 

 in specimens of about 75 mm SL; in examples of about 85 mm SL, the band is much 

 broader than the eye, and its lower margin generally has become indefinite. In still 

 larger specimens it usually has become diffused with the silvery color on the lower part 

 of the side. The dark dots along the base of the anal persist longer than any of the other 

 juvenile markings and are visible in half-grown fish; in fact, they are visible in some 

 specimens up to 90 mm SL. 



Spawning. Several females with large eggs were taken in Lake Maracaibo on May 

 16 (1942), indicating that at least some spawning takes place in the spring of the year. 



Range. Known only from Lake Maracaibo and from the lower sections of tributary 

 streams, in fresh to slightly brackish water. 



Reference : 



Lycengraulis limnichthys Schultz, Proc. U. S. nat. Mus., gg, 1949: 51, fig- 8 (orig. descr.; type local. Rio Agua 

 Caliente, above Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela; type USNM 121751). 



