Stout body with broad massive head and robust gut; eyes oval on short stalks; conical ventral choroid tissue; pectoral fin precocious with large fan-shaped base and blade; pelvic fins form early; complex and highly distinctive pigmentation; Br2 photophores form at about 7.0 mm.
Pigmentation: Preflexion: in larvae <4.0 mm, on tip of lower jaw, 1 at about midway along postanal ventral midline, 2 pairs on anterior ventral surface of gut, a dorsolateral pair on terminal section of gut, about 4 (ring-like) on medial surface of pectoral fin base, and peppering on pectoral fin blade; at about 4.0 mm, series on isthmus and upper and lower jaws, 1 on nostril, at posterior region of orbit, ventrolaterally on hindbrain, on opercle, and on dorsal midline slightly posterior to the one on ventral margin; by 6.0 mm, 1 on head above pectoral fin base, a series ventrally on cleithrum, a series associated with each branchiostegal ray, 2 pairs on ventral surface of terminal section of gut, and 1 at anal fin insertion.
Flexion: one more on nostril, 1 or more in midline above brain; most series augmented.
Postflexion: beginning of vertical series at posterior hypural margin.
Eyes are stalked and narrow; gut deep; Br2 appears at 8 mm.
Sequence of fin development: pectorals, caudal and pelvics, anal, dorsal. |