Early life history stages of peacock flounder Bothus lunatus (Bothidae) from the western and central tropical Atlantic

Abstract

Previously unknown larvae and poorly studied metamorphic and postmetamorphic stages of devel- opment of peacock flounder Bothus lunatus (Bothidae) with a length of 5.4 to 39.5 mm from the western and central tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean are described, and their identification is substantiated. Small- and medium-sized larvae of this species (with a length of nearly 10 mm) at stages of pre- and postflexion, like all larvae of the genus Bothus at the corresponding stages of development, have a strongly flattened from the sides, moderately deep, and almost pigment-free transparent body; bear a long anterior ray in the dorsal fin; and have single melanophores in the end part of the body. They differ from larvae of other Atlantic species of the genus known at early stages of development in the shape of the anterior head profile, namely in the presence of a deep notch in front of the eyes. With growth, their body assumes a rounded shape. During metamorphosis of larval B. lunatus , the right eye shifts to the left side of the head through a slit formed during the separation of the origin of dorsal fin base from the cranium. This specific feature distinguishes them from larvae of the remaining spe- cies of the genus in which, during metamorphosis, the right eye passes to the left side through the hole in the head.