| Moderate body depth; gut to midbody, slightly sigmoid; head size moderate; eyes relatively large, slightly elliptical with choroid sliver; distinctive pigment with large, dense melanophores; Br2 photophores form by 6.5-7.2 mm; PLO by 7.2-8.0 mm; PO5 by 8.5-9.5 mm; PO1 and Vn by 13.5 mm.
Pigmentation:
Preflexion: initially, 1 above developing gas bladder, 1 above preanal arch of gut, and 1 on ventral margin midway between anus and notochord tip; at about 4.2 mm, 1 on dorsal midline apposing the one at ventral midline; at about 6.2-6.5 mm, 1 at future dorsal fin insertion, 1 embedded just posterior to pectoral fin base, and 1 embedded ventrolaterally on surface of hindbrain.
Flexion: at 6.5-7.0 mm, on dorsal midline at nape and dorsal fin origin, above and below caudal peduncle, pair on anal fin base, and 2 in midline embedded above gut; at 7.0-8.3 mm, on dorsal midline at cerebellum and anterior to adipose fin, pairs dorsally at adipose fin and dorsal fin insertion, and 2 more in embedded midline series above gut.
Postflexion: additional midline and paired melanophores along dorsum and postanal ventrum in some specimens.
Sequence of fin development: caudal, pectorals, anal and dorsal, pelvics. |
