Holocentridae: E III B6A
Myripristis berndti Jordan & Evermann, 1903
Bigscale soldier
Egg diameter in µm |
Number of oil globules |
Diameter of oil globule in µm |
Yolk texture |
Perivitelline space |
Position of oil globule at hatch |
Gut length at eye- pigment stage |
Myomeres |
700 |
1 |
190 |
segmented |
narrow |
bow |
44% of NL |
29-30 |
Egg: The orange tint to the oil globule and developing embryo in this egg is unmistakable. Incubation is about 24 hours.
Larva: The newly hatched larva shows no pigment, but for the diffuse orange of the egg (C). But a pattern rapidly develops, including white pigment in the finfolds (D & F), and black pigment discretely positioned from nose to tail (E). (C): NH, D & E: 1 day, F: 3 days (25°C).
Despite its unique colours, this egg was not recorded until 1995, the 9th year of collecting. A single larva hatched from this egg, has been barcoded (BOLD), and matches 8 locally collected adult Myripristis berndti. Confirmation awaits further larval barcodes, and positive identification of adult vouchers in SAIAB, as I have had difficulty separating adults of M murdjan and M. berndti.
Linked samples |
Offshore |
Inshore |
Eggs |
199 |
51 |
Hits |
11 |
17 |
The limited amount of data indicates a summer spawner, with eggs seen from November to February (blue graph). The egg was not seen in the DHM samples. The Park Rynie linked samples had 80% offshore, indicating spawning in the same area as kob and geelbek. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more information on the linked samples..