Journal
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
Volume 192, Issue 4, Pages 1071-1089Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa123
Keywords
anatomy; caudal skeleton; grey mullets; morphology; Mugilidae; ontogeny; osteology; Ovalentaria
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Funding
- Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
- 'Tecnomugilag-Trasferimento alle aziende operanti in laguna delle tecniche di riproduzione e di allevamento in ambiente controllato di Mugil cephalus' top-down cluster project - POR Sardegna FESR 2014-2020, Asse I, Ricerca Scientifica, Sviluppo e Innovazio
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This study describes the skeletal development of mullets for the first time, based on observations of aquaculture-reared Mugil cephalus and wild-caught mugilid larvae. The fusion phenomena at different developmental stages have important implications for the adult morphology.
Within the fish taxon Mugiliformes, the larval development of Mugil cephalus has been studied most intensively, because it has the widest range of distribution among all mugilids and is of interest to aquaculture all over the world. Although numerous studies have dealt with larval rearing, growth and development, the osteological development of M. cephalus and mugiliforms in general has largely been neglected. Herein, we describe the skeletal development of mullets for the first time. Cleared and double-stained specimens of aquaculture-reared M. cephalus and wild-caught mugilid larvae were examined to describe the early development of the pectoral and pelvic girdle, the vertebral column and the caudal and median fins. The description of four embryonic and six larval developmental steps within the embryonic and larval period enables us to compare larval sizes of reared and wild-caught larvae. Ontogenetic fusions of ural centra 1 and 2 into a compound centrum, in addition to the fusion of two pterygiophores in the anal fin, have implications for the perception of the adult morphology. Moreover, comparison of mugilid development with that of other ovalentarian taxa shows that recent phylogenetic hypotheses need further morphological investigation.
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