Growth in larval and metamorphosed Eurypharynx pelecanoides Vaillant, 1882 (Pisces, Anguilliformes, Eurypharyngidae) from the mid North Atlantic

• Main Author: Utrecht, W.L. van
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1988
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/record/504172; http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/547822

The difference between the larvae of Eurypharynx pelecanoides and Saccopharynx ampullaceus, both belonging to the suborder Saccopharyngoidei (formerly Lyomeri), does not consist only of different numbers in myomeres but also of the structure of the suspensorium of the lower jaw. In E. pelecanoides it consists of two separate bones, the hyomandibulare and the quadratum. According to Orton (1963) in S. ampullaceus the suspensorium consists of only one piece of bone. In the larvae of E. pelecanoides there is no upper jaw or related structure present, up to a length of about 20 mm. In the larvae as well as in the metamorphosed specimens of E. pelecanoides, growth in length of the bony components of the skull, forming the upper and lower jaw and its suspensorium, is strong and significant in caudal direction. There is also a small but significant increase in length of the part of the skull between the eyes and the tip of the snout.