TY - JOUR
T1 - Identification of leptocephalus larvae of the tiger moray Scuticaria tigrina (Anguilliformes; Muraenidae) based on morphometric and genetic evidence
AU - Tawa, Atsushi
AU - Kobayakawa, Midori
AU - Yoshimura, Taku
AU - Mochioka, Noritaka
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the following for their significant contributions to this work: Y. Sakai (Department of Bioresource Science, Hiroshima University), T. Minetoma (Kuchinoerabu Island), K. Yamaguchi (Tokyo Metropolitan Islands Area Research and Development Center of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), and the captains and crews of the R/V Kaiyo Maru (Japanese Fisheries Agency). Thanks are due also to G.S. Hardy (Ngunguru, New Zealand) for his critical comments on the manuscript and great help with the English. The research was financially supported in part by a “Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant” from The Japan Science Society and “Mikimoto Fund for Marine Ecology”.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Leptocephali collected from the south of Japan and assigned to the muraenid subfamily Uropterygiinae were identified as Scuticaria tigrina on the basis of morphometric and genetic evidence. Significant meristic counts included: total myomeres (TM) 166-172, last vertical blood vessel myomeres 121-126, preanal myomeres 139-145 and predorsal myomeres 157-158. Melanophores were apparent on the posteroventral surface of the brain and about the first myomere on the upper opercular region, along the ventral midline from the gallbladder to the anus, the ventral aspect of the spinal cord and the ventral midline from the anus to the origin of the anal fin, and on both dorsal and anal fin bases. The leptocephalus of S. tigrina could be easily distinguished from previously reported uropterygiine leptocephali because of the high myomere numbers (>160 TM), the unusually long gut and the pigmentation patterns.
AB - Leptocephali collected from the south of Japan and assigned to the muraenid subfamily Uropterygiinae were identified as Scuticaria tigrina on the basis of morphometric and genetic evidence. Significant meristic counts included: total myomeres (TM) 166-172, last vertical blood vessel myomeres 121-126, preanal myomeres 139-145 and predorsal myomeres 157-158. Melanophores were apparent on the posteroventral surface of the brain and about the first myomere on the upper opercular region, along the ventral midline from the gallbladder to the anus, the ventral aspect of the spinal cord and the ventral midline from the anus to the origin of the anal fin, and on both dorsal and anal fin bases. The leptocephalus of S. tigrina could be easily distinguished from previously reported uropterygiine leptocephali because of the high myomere numbers (>160 TM), the unusually long gut and the pigmentation patterns.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10228-012-0292-0
DO - 10.1007/s10228-012-0292-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84868652218
VL - 59
SP - 378
EP - 383
JO - Ichthyological Research
JF - Ichthyological Research
SN - 1341-8998
IS - 4
ER -