Abstract
Leptocephalus larvae of elopomorph fishes are a cryptic component of fish diversity in nearshore and oceanic habitats. However, identifying those leptocephali can be important in illuminating species richness in a region. Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, sampling of offshore fishes in the epi-, meso-, and upper bathypelagic depth strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico resulted in 8982 identifiable specimens of leptocephalus larvae or transforming juveniles, representing 90 recognized and established species and an additional 36 distinctive leptocephalus morphotypes not yet linked to a known described species. Leptocephali account for ~13% of the total species richness of fishes collected in the offshore region. A new morphotype of Muraenidae leptocephalus is described. DNA barcoding of selected specimens has further expanded the determination of several leptocephalus morphotypes.
Highlights
Elopomorph fishes are basal teleosts, comprising the Elopiformes, Albuliformes, Notacanthiformes, and Anguilliformes (Forey, 1973; Arratia, 1999; Dornburg et al, 2015; Poulsen et al, 2018)
This paper describes the elopomorph fauna, based on leptocephali collected from the oceanic waters of the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and subsequent surveys, and further discusses the contribution of these larvae to the overall species richness observed in the offshore Gulf environment
Given that the number of leptocephali species and morphotypes collected in the oceanic Gulf of Mexico is close to the number of adult species known from the Gulf (McEachran, 2009), leptocephali can serve as an important indicator of eel biodiversity and represent potential distributional range extensions and undiscovered species
Summary
Elopomorph fishes are basal teleosts, comprising the Elopiformes (tarpon and ladyfishes), Albuliformes (bonefishes), Notacanthiformes (spiny eels and halosaurs), and Anguilliformes (true eels, including the formerly separate Saccopharyngiformes) (Forey, 1973; Arratia, 1999; Dornburg et al, 2015; Poulsen et al, 2018). One unique characteristic of elopomorph fishes is a larval stage known as the leptocephalus (Greenwood et al, 1966; Pfeiler, 1986; Wiley and Johnson, 2010) This stage features an extended planktonic phase, allowing the larva to stay in the water column from a few months to several years before metamorphosis to a juvenile, depending on the species (Hulet, 1978; Smith, 1979, 1989a; Miller, 2009). This paper describes the elopomorph fauna, based on leptocephali collected from the oceanic waters of the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and subsequent surveys, and further discusses the contribution of these larvae to the overall species richness observed in the offshore Gulf environment
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