Identification of larvae and juveniles of Encrasicholina punctifer and Engraulis japonica, obtained from shirasu trawl in the coastal waters of Oita Prefecture, Japan
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The morphology of larvae and juveniles of two engraulid fish, Encrasicholina punctifer Fowler, 1938 and Engraulis japonica Temminck and Schlegel, 1846 were compared based on specimens obtained from shirasu trawl in coastal waters of Oita Prefecture during August to December 2022. Larvae and juveniles of both species are similar in terms of overall body shape and melanophore pigmentation, and positions of dorsal and anal fins. Encrasicholina punctifer differs from Eng. japonica in the presence of a pair of melanophores on the dorsal surface of the notochord (urostyl) tip and the straight shape of the ventral margin of the tail. The differences between these two species are relatively clear in the combined comparison of the numbers of myomeres and anal fin rays in the specimens used in this study. However, previous studies reported wide intraspecific variation in the numbers of vertebrae (myomere) and anal-fin rays in both species, and the values overlapped between the two species. Therefore, identification of these two species requires consideration of not only the numbers of myomeres and anal-fin rays, but also other traits such as melanophore pigmentation on the notochord tip and the shape of the ventral margin of the tail.
Authors: 指田, 穣, 145082, Sashida, Minoru, 渋谷, 駿太, 137349, Shibuya, Shunta, 河野, 悌昌, 145089, Kono, Naoaki
Language: Japanese
Subfield: Aquatic Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7112907274