Apogon

Baldwin, Carole C., Brito, Balam J., Smith, David G., Weigt, Lee A. & Escobar-Briones, Elva, 2011, Identification of early life-history stages of Caribbean Apogon (Perciformes: Apogonidae) through DNA Barcoding, Zootaxa 3133, pp. 1-36 : 10

Apogon sp. 1

Identification. No adults match the single larval specimen of this lineage in our genetic analysis. This unidentified species could be A. evermanni , A. leptocaulus , or A. gouldi , and specimens of those species are needed for comparative genetic analysis. Alternatively, the unidentified larval specimen may represent an undescribed species.

Larvae ( Fig. 7 ). Apogon sp. 1 is represented by one 10.0 mm SL specimen. The body is mostly orange with some transparent areas. The snout is mostly transparent, but there is a small, pale orange spot at the anterior tip. The jaws are pale orange. The rest of the head and anterior portion of the trunk are orange, the area immediately behind the eye the most intense orange. The posterior region of the body is mostly transparent, with one band of pale orange pigment below the second dorsal fin and one spot of bright orange pigment on caudal peduncle. There is a line of bright orange pigment on the ventral midline of the body from the anal fin to the caudal peduncle. All fins are clear except the proximal portions of the anal-fin rays have pale orange coloration. There are melanophores on top of the head, behind the eye on the temporal region, over the swimbladder, and on the lateral surface of the gut. The caudal-peduncle length is 35% SL.

Comparisons Among Larvae. Larval Apogon sp. 1 most closely resemble A. binotatus , A. phenax , A. planifrons , and A. townsendi larvae in having orange pigmentation concentrated mainly on the head and anterior portion of the trunk and transparent areas on the snout and usually also on posterior portions of the trunk. Apogon sp. 1 differs from A. planifrons in lacking yellow pigment on the anterior portion of the body and from larval A. phenax in lacking a prominent orange spot on the snout. From A. maculatus , larval Apogon sp. 1 differs in lacking orange pigment on the first dorsal fin and in having a longer caudal peduncle (35% SL in Apogon sp. 1, 30% SL in A. maculatus ). From A. aurolineatus , larval Apogon sp. 1 differs in lacking orange/yellow pigment on the dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins; in having transparent areas on the trunk (vs. trunk completely orange in A. aurolineatus ); and in having a longer caudal peduncle (35% SL in Apogon sp. 1 vs. 27–29% SL in A. aurolineatus ). Apogon sp. 1 lacks the distinctive pattern of chromatophores on the median fins typical of A. mosavi and the single specimen examined has a longer caudal peduncle (35% SL in Apogon sp. 1 vs. 31–34% SL in A. mosavi ). Additional larval specimens of Apogon sp. 1 are needed to confirm the differences noted above and to determine if it can be separated from larval A. binotatus and A. townsendi .

Figures

FIGURE 7. Apogon sp. 1, larva, 10.0 mm SL, DNA # BLZ 5260, photograph by J. Mounts.