Champsodontidae: L II B1

Champsodon capensis Regan, 1908.

Gaper

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
985-1060	1	170-200	clear	narrow	stern	49% of NL	ca. 33

Egg: When seen at 24 hours incubation, the egg has a yellow tint, and a clear to pale amber oil globule (A). The yolk has a rough surface. The egg lacks pigment except for a few black dots on the oil globule. One day later, black blotches  have developed on the oil globule, and on the embryo's snout, behind the eyes, scattered dorsally on the notochord post-anus, and ventrally near the notochord tip (B). At this stage, the peculiar opercular appendage can usually be seen, with a black tip. Incubation is about 48 hours (22-23°C).

Larva: The distribution of black pigment in the early larva is clearly shown (C), with the opercular appendages easily seen (black arrow). C: 2 days, D: 4 days (22-23°C).

No attempt was made to rear this larva because the opercular appendage was so distinctive. Two hatched larvae have been barcoded, matching 5 adults collected locally (BOLD).

Linked samples	Offshore	Inshore
Eggs	17	5
Hits	16	5

This uncommon egg was mostly seen in winter (blue graph). Being a deepwater species (Heemstra, 1986a), it is likely that the eggs are usually seen as a result of a gyre ( known as the Natal Pulse) pulling deep water up onto the shelf (see Introductory Notes, Section 3.4.2 for more information on the Natal Pulse). The egg has been less common recently (white graph), and was not seen in the DHM samples. The linked samples had more eggs offshore (77%). Numbers are too low to be reliable, but this does fit the known distribution of this deepwater species. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more information on the linked samples.