Abstract
The osteological ontogeny of Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758) and its temperature-induced plasticity is studied. The ontogeny of the skeleton follows the pattern described in all other Sparidae studied so far: the onset of the ontogeny of the vertebral column and the caudal fin is at 4.3 mm total length (TL) and the completion at 17.6 and 15.4 mm TL, respectively. Dorsal and anal fin development appears at about 5.2 mm TL and completes at 7.5 mm TL. The pelvic are the last fins to develop (7.5–11.5 mm TL). Although the pectorals are the only fins present before first feeding, their ontogeny is completed only after 12.0 mm TL. Temperature affects the developmental rate of the skeleton giving as much as 10.9% of differentiation in total length between 16 and 21 °C (caudal lepidotrichia), 9.2% between 16 and 18 °C (caudal lepidotrichia) and 6.7% between 18 and 21 °C (pelvic lepidotrichia). The role of temperature in developmental plasticity is enhanced by the induction of abnormalities mainly in the area of the caudal fin, which reached (in total) 75% occurrence in the higher temperature regime (23 °C) tested. The results of the skeletal ontogeny are compared with the pattern of development of the Sparidae, and are discussed in respect to the role of temperature in the developmental plasticity of fish.
Published Version
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