two spawnings, was 138 or about half of the 

 mean of the other six species. In S. paucis- 

 pinis , in w^hich some specimens gave evidence 

 of two spawnings and some did not, the 

 relative fecundity was about midway between 

 the two groups. No relation was detected 

 within the species S. paucispinis , between 

 evidence of two spawnings and relative fecun- 

 dity. The group of six specimens that showed 

 evidence of two spawnings and the group of 

 three that did not each had average relative 

 fecundities of 219; the four questionable spe- 

 imens had an average relative fectmdity of 

 192. 



The association of secondary groups of 

 unfertilized yolked eggs with only stage X 

 and XI embryos indicates that the secondary 

 group does not begin to develop until the pri- 

 mary group is much advanced. I have also 

 found this condition in the oviparous species, 

 Vinciguerria lucetia, in the developing ovaries 

 of which only one group of yolked developing 

 ova is present unless this group is almost 

 ripe; then, a secondary group of smaller 

 yolked ova, in numbers about equal to the 

 primary group, may often be found. In many 

 species of fish the secondary group of yolked 

 ova is present throughout most of the devel- 

 opment of the primary group but shows little 

 growth, especially when measured by volume 

 rather than dianneter, until the primary group 

 is almost ripe or has been spawned. In the 

 oviparous species, Cololabis saira , the sec- 

 ondary group of yolked ova may out-number 

 the primary group 10 or 20 times. From 

 this numerous secondary group a second 

 spawning batch about equal in number to the 

 primary group will develop, but only when 

 the primary group is ripe or nearly ripe. 



In some species of fishes a secondary 

 group of yolked eggs may be resorbed after 

 the spawning of the primary group; in others 

 the secondary group may furnish one or more 

 subsequent spawning batches; and in still 

 others either condition may prevail depending 

 on age, size, or condition of the fish or the 

 environment. 



The evidence of entrapped larvae in asso- 

 ciation with fertilized eggs in the ovaries of 

 the three species of Sebastodes is almost 

 conclusive proof of at least two spawnings 

 per season in these species. The absence of 

 entrapped larvae does not necessarily prove 

 that the other species do not spawn more 

 than once, although it offers a strong indica- 

 tion. A greater time interval between spawn- 

 ings in some species would allow more time 

 for the disintegration of larvae, and the 

 absence of a developing group of secondary 

 eggs at hatching time might allow all larvae 

 to escape from the less crowded ovary. 



None of the authors listed in table 4 men- 

 tioned evidence of multiple spawning in the 

 species they examined, although a few of the 



species seem to have rather low relative 

 fecundities. In the present study, with the ex- 

 ception of S. ovalis , S. constellatus , and 

 some S. paucispinis (table 1, 2, and 3), the 

 relative fecundity approximates the range of 

 200 to 400 eggs per gram of fish typical of 

 many marine fishes of similar size that 

 spawn nonadhesive, pelagic eggs. The fertil- 

 ized Sebastodes egg more closely resembles 

 such eggs than do those of any other live- 

 bearing species. 



The Live -Bearing Trait in Fishes 



A number of families of fishes other than 

 the Scorpaenidae include species that bear 

 living young. Eigenmann (1894: 404) stated: 



At least two types of viviparity may be distinguished 

 in fishes: first, those In which the yolk furnishes all 

 the Intraovarlan food ( Poecllla , Gambusla, Scorpae- 

 nidae ); and second, those in which the greater part of 

 the food is furnished by the ovary ( Biennis , Anableps , 

 and Emblotocldae) . 



In the first type the number of young is usually not 

 less than in related oviparous forms, while the number 

 of young in the second is always greatly reduced. 



In addition to the Poecilidae , Scorpaenidae , 

 Blennidae , and Embiotocidae mentioned by 

 Eigemann, the live-bearing trait is found in 

 the Hemiramphidae and Zoarcidae . In the 

 Hemiramphidae , generally saltwater forms 

 such as Hemiramphus and Hyporhamphus are 

 oviparous but generally fresh-water forms 

 such as Zenarchopterus and Dermogenys are 

 live-bearing (Smith, 1945). In the Zoracidae , 

 Zorces viviparus of the eastern North Atlan- 

 tic is viviparous, whereas Zoarces anguillaris 

 of the western North Atlantic spawns large 

 demersal adhesive eggs (Bigelow and 

 Schroeder, 1953). 



Eggs of Oviparous Scorpaenids 



The available data indicate that the ovipar- 

 ous scorpaenids are pelagic spawners. Okada 

 (1955) reported that the scorpaenid, Hydrodytes 

 rubripinnis , spawns pelagic eggs 0.8 to 0.9 

 nann. in diameter in July and August. Fitch 

 (1958), who reported that Scorpaena guttata 

 spawns from April through August, described 

 a modification unique to this genus. "The 

 eggs are imbedded in the gelatinous walls of 

 hallow, pear-shaped, egg-balloons. The paired 

 egg-balloons, each 5 to 10 inches long are 

 joined at their small ends. The walls of these 

 'balloons' are about one-tenth inch thick, 

 transparent or greenish in color and contain 

 a single layer of eggs. The eggs are about 

 one-twentieth inch each in diameter. The 

 'balloons' are spawned at the bottom of the 

 sea and rise rapidly to the surface. The 

 eggs hatch at the surface within 5 days." 



