Identification of tenuis of four French Polynesian Carapini (Carapidae : Teleostei)

in Marine Biology (2002), 140(3), 633-638

Four species of adult Carapini (Carapidae) occur on Polynesian coral reefs: Encheliophis gracilis, Carapus boraborensis, C. homei and C. mourlani. Samples collected in Rangiroa and Moorea allowed us to ... [more ▼]

Four species of adult Carapini (Carapidae) occur on Polynesian coral reefs: Encheliophis gracilis, Carapus boraborensis, C. homei and C. mourlani. Samples collected in Rangiroa and Moorea allowed us to obtain different tenuis (larvae) during their settlement phases or directly inside their hosts. These were separated into four lots on the basis of a combination of pigmentation, meristic, morphological, dental and otolith (sagittae) features. Comparison of these characters with those of the adults allows, for the first time, taxonomic identification of these tenuis-stage larvae. [less ▲]