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Changes in morphology and specific gravity in larvae of Lophius litulon (Lophiiformes; Lophiidae) before and after emergence from egg veil

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Abstract

Species of the genus Lophius spawn ribbon-shaped egg masses called an “egg veil.” Egg veils are composed of numerous mucoid chambers each enveloping eggs. The subsequent larvae have been observed to remain in the chamber for a period of time after hatching from eggs in some species of Lophius. However, the period until the larvae emerge from the egg veil is unclear. Here we discuss the timing of the emergence from the egg veil and the relationship between the timing and ontogenetic changes in the morphology and specific gravity of larval yellow goosefish L. litulon. We found that larvae before the development of broadened pectoral fins, elongated pelvic fins and three pairs of melanophores on the tail were not sampled in the field collection and did not emerge from egg veil in the rearing experiment. The absence of small larvae implies that they remain inside the chambers. Furthermore, the specific gravity changed rapidly from positive to neutral buoyancy at the developmental stage for which the largest numbers of larvae were obtained in the field collection. Larval L. litulon are concluded to emerge from the egg veil as they develop broad pectoral fins, elongated pelvic fins and regular melanophores and become neutrally buoyant.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Y. Kindaichi (Kazamaura fisheries cooperative association); Mr. G. Komamine (Komamine Corporation); the staff of Kazamaura Village Government, Laboratory of Marine Bioresources Ecology of Hokkaido University Faculty of Fisheries; crew of the T/S Ushio-maru of Hokkaido University, Faculty of Fisheries; as well as crew of the Seiho-maru and Natsudomari of Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center Fisheries Institute for their kind assistance in the collection of specimens. This work was conducted under permits from Hokkaido University Manual for Implementing Animal Experimentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3–1–1, Minato, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041–8611, Japan

    Tomoya Ishikawa & Weifeng Gao

  2. Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3–1–1, Minato, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041–8611, Japan

    Mitsuhiro Nakaya & Tetsuya Takatsu

  3. Aomori Prefectural Industry Technology Research Center Fisheries Research Institute, Hiranai, Aomori, 039–3381, Japan

    Kenji Odani, Ryo Suzuki & Kyosei Noro

  4. Aomori Prefectural Government, Nagashima, Aomori, 030–8570, Japan

    Yuhei Takeya

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  1. Tomoya Ishikawa
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  2. Mitsuhiro Nakaya
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  3. Weifeng Gao
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  4. Tetsuya Takatsu
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  6. Ryo Suzuki
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  7. Kyosei Noro
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  8. Yuhei Takeya
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Correspondence to Tomoya Ishikawa.

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Ishikawa, T., Nakaya, M., Gao, W. et al. Changes in morphology and specific gravity in larvae of Lophius litulon (Lophiiformes; Lophiidae) before and after emergence from egg veil. Environ Biol Fish 105, 303–312 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01222-y

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