184 
Fishery Bulletin 107(2) 
related genus, lcelus. The majority of larvae had high- 
er myomere counts (37-42) than lcelus (35-36) and a 
different pelvic-fin count (1, 3) than I. borealis (1, 2) 
(Table 4). Larvae of I. borealis and lcelus had the same 
general body shape, presence of irregular PVMs (size, 
shape, location), similar pigmentation on the head, gut, 
and anus, four prominent preopercular spines, and a 
distinctive bony shelf on the anterior portion of the pre- 
opercle. lcelinus and lcelus were also placed in the same 
phenetic group by Richardson (1981) based on shared 
larval characters. There are five species of lcelus in the 
Bering Sea; however, lcelus spatula and I. spiniger are 
most abundant in the geographic area where lcelinus 
borealis is found (Matarese et ah, 1989). 
This study provides a sound method for identifying 
larval I. borealis in the Bering Sea and is applicable 
to juvenile specimens as far south as southern Puget 
Sound, Washington. Although only two preflexion speci- 
mens were available for study, morphological characters 
and patterns of pigmentation at this stage of develop- 
ment are an important contribution. Taxonomic char- 
acters presented here could elucidate distinctiveness or 
similarity of lcelinus among other cottid genera (e.g., 
Ruscarius, lcelus) and co-occurring species (e.g., lcelinus 
filamentosus ) — an important beginning to solving the 
complicated systematic relationships within the family 
Cottidae (Richardson, 1981). Although I. borealis lar- 
vae were identified in this study from the Bering Sea, 
definitive identification of larval I. borealis in other 
geographic areas will depend on the comparison of I. 
borealis with its congeners and other sympatric cottid 
larvae. 
Acknowledgments 
The author thanks J. Orr (AFSC), M. Busby, A. Mata- 
rese, and J. Napp for reviewing the manuscript. Data 
for adult groundfish and specimens of lcelinus and lcelus 
juveniles and adults were supplied by J. Orr and D. Ste- 
venson (AFSC), who also granted use of the Resource 
Assessment and Conservation Engineering Groundfish 
Systematics Laboratory and digital radiograph machine. 
J. Benson (AFSC) and M. Busby provided ArcView- 
GIS training and support. K. Maslenikov, University 
of Washington, provided radiographs and specimens of 
lcelus. This research is contribution EcoFOCI-0636 to 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 
Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations. 
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