Identification of leptocephalus larvae of the tiger moray Scuticaria tigrina (Anguilliformes; Muraenidae) based on morphometric and genetic evidence

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.