Chaetodontidae: F III A5

Chaetodon marleyi Regan, 1921

Doublesash butterflyfish

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

790-865

1

190-215

segmented

narrow

stern

60% of NL

24

Egg: The oil globule of this egg can be clear or bright amber, and it is tightly tucked into the tail of the embryo before hatching (A). Fine black pigment spots on the embryo, form a dark line along each side (A1), usually only visible on a white background. The yolk is segmented on the edges. Incubation time is about 40 hours (24°C).

Larva: The early larva has a dark spot midtail, which, within a day, has mingled with a dark band ventrally along the notochord (C).   At 4 days, the whole notochord is covered in dark blotches, except for the mid-tail patch which develops a bright metallic purple sheen (D). The finfolds are covered in fine black pigment spots, a feature seen in other chaetodontid larvae (LIIIF2).  B: NH, C: 1 day, D: 4 days (25°C).

This egg was not reared, despite several attempts. Seven larval barcode sequences are available, which match 3 adult C. marleyi collected locally (BOLD).

C. marleyi is a winter/spring spawner off Park Rynie (blue graph). The eggs were not seen in the DHM samples. The annual catch of these eggs off Park Rynie, has remained steady(white graph). In the Park Rynie linked samples, the egg was mostly seen in the inshore samples (60%), indicating it is an inshore spawner, in the region of the 20-30m depth contours. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more information on the linked samples.

Linked samples

Offshore

Inshore

Eggs

146

217

Hits

50

51