Early Morphological Development of the Green Sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus, and its separation from other larval Lepomis species
- 1 September 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 106 (5) , 445-448
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1977)106<445:emdotg>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Green sunfish (L. cyanellus) held at 24-27.degree. C hatched in 35-55 h at total lengths (TL) of 3.5 to 3.7 mm and swam up by 145 h when .apprx. 6 mm TL. The eyes were pigmented when the fish exceeded 4 mm TL, and the number of melanophores on the body increased thereafter. Melanophores on the head were present in the protolarvae (5.0-5.1 mm TL) and were important in separating green sunfish from other Lepomis spp. Pectoral fin buds were present at hatching and all fins were distinguishable by 16 days after fertilization; but adult meristic counts were not present until 22 days after fertilization. Green sunfish had more preanal (13) and fewer postanal (15) myomeres than other larval Lepomis spp. Green sunfish had a supra-anal melanophore and a singly looped, S shaped intestine common to most Lepomis spp.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The Embryonic Origin of the Gas Bladder in the Centrarchid Fish Lepomis macrochirus macrochirusIchthyology & Herpetology, 1952