Scorpaenidae: H II A2

Unknown.

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
1105-1345	0	n/a	clear	narrow	n/a	45% of NL	Ca 28

Egg: Yellow and black dots all over the embryo, and on two big pectorals (A), give this egg a distinctive look. The surface of the yolk is goose-pimpled. Incubation is about 50 hours.

Larva: The NH larva quickly forms distinctive pectorals (B), with dark blotches in the pectorals and, dorsally, down the notochord (C & D). At 3-4 days, the larva is enveloped by frilly pectorals (E).  B: NH, C: 1 day, D: 2 days, E: 3 days (25°C).

Occasional attempts at rearing eggs, were not successful. Four DNA barcodes of this larva are available, and appear to represent three species, which associate with scorpaenids in my dendrogram. No matches have been found among currently available South African marine fishes, nor in a wider search of BOLD.

At Park Rynie, this egg was collected in spring and early summer (blue graph). It was not seen in the DHM samples. The annual catch shows no marked change over the duration of the study (white graph). In the Park Rynie linked samples, eggs were more common inshore (65%), suggesting spawning within 1-2km of the shore. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more information on the linked samples.

Linked samples	Offshore	Inshore
Eggs	12	22
Hits	8	13