| Body and gut slender; trailing gut deflected away from body at anal fin origin; elongate, flattened head; long snout, ovoid eyes; finfold moderate; distinguished from Eustomias spp. by pigment on trailing gut; dorsal and ventral paired pigment series.
Pigmentation:
Preflexion: short, dense, apposing median series just anterior to notochord tip; paired dorsal series form first posteriorly, then gradually are augmented anteriorly; paired ventral series just beginning to form posteriorly in smallest larvae, augmented anteriorly; pairs ventrolaterally and posteriorly in the otic region, a pair dorsolateral to hindbrain, and a pair on snout; by 8.0 mm, dorsal series complete to nape and consist of about 11-14 pairs.
Flexion: additional pairs (large) in dorsal series and smaller ones added between larger ones; ventral series extends forward to head, recessed in trunk musculature above gut, spaced about 3-4 myomeres apart; series on isthmus, patch on gular region, above brain, and just forming on lower jaw; on trailing gut, proximally on caudal fin rays.
Postflexion: more added to dorsal and ventral series, eventually each series continuous; more on gut, forming vague ring-like pattern in some specimens.
Transformation: 14 melanophores on each dorsal myomere.
Sequence of fin development: caudal, dorsal and anal, pelvics, pectorals. |
