164 
Fishery Bulletin 111(2) 
74°0'0"W 72°0'0"W 70°0'0"W 
Figure 3 
Map of areas where Tilefish ( Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps ) were collected between the 100 and 300 m 
isobaths off southern New England in 2008 for this study to update the maturity schedules of this species. 
Fish were sampled during 2 trips by commercial fishing vessels targeting Tilefish: in June to the east 
(right polygon) and in July throughout the region (both polygons). The exact locations are not plotted to 
maintain confidentiality for commercial fishing operations. 
in testes or a mix of ovarian and seminiferous tissue 
in a single gonad, the latter of which was reported by 
Grimes et al. (1988) and Erickson and Grossman (1986) 
for functional males. Although we examined morphol- 
ogy, our interpretation of sexual pattern was made on 
the basis of functionality, specifically whether gameto- 
genesis was complete for both ovarian and seminifer- 
ous tissue during an individual’s lifetime (Sadovy de 
Mitcheson and Liu, 2008). The existence of gonads 
that contained nonfunctional tissue of the opposite sex 
(i.e., intersex) and evidence that individuals matured 
and spawned as only one sex were considered to be a 
gonochoristic rather than a hermaphroditic trait. The 
infrequent presence of isolated oocytes in seminiferous 
tissue was not considered a bisexual condition because 
such oocytes also did not confer any function as a fe- 
male (Sadovy and Domeier, 2005). 
Because sampling occurred during the spawning 
season, the histological criterion for female maturity 
was the presence of secondary oocytes as the most ad- 
vanced oocyte stage. Secondary oocytes were defined as 
germ cells that showed evidence of vitellogenin uptake 
and transformation of lipoprotein yolk in the cytoplasm 
(Grier et ah, 2009). Cortical alveolar-stage oocytes as 
the most advance stage were uncommon, and we com- 
ment on their presence and interpretation in the Re- 
sults section. Male maturity was marked by the pres- 
ence of spermatozoa in the spermatogenic lobules. 
Age determination 
Sagittal otoliths were extracted at sea and stored dry. 
These otoliths were thin-sectioned through the core 
according to standard methods with a low-speed, di- 
amond-blade saw. Marginal increment analysis indi- 
cated that annuli are laid down by June of each year 
(Turner et al., 1983); therefore, given the timing of our 
collections, the number of complete bands equaled the 
age of the fish, in years. 
Otoliths from 100 Tilefish used in Steve Turner’s 
aging study (hereafter, called the reference collection ) 
were used to train and calibrate the primary age read- 
er (T. Vidal) in relation to the age-assignment practic- 
es reported in Turner et al. (1983) and Turner (1986). 
