Osteological development of the caudal
skeleton in the carangid, Seriola lalandi
Hiroshi Kohno
Laboratory of Ichthyology, Tokyo Universi~ of Fisheries. 4-5-7 Konan,
Minato-ku, Tokyo I08, Japan (e-mail: hirokun@tokyo-u-fish.ac,jp)
(Received 11 June 1996; in revised form 25 November 1996; accepted 7 Februa~ 1997)
Ichthyological Kohno,H. 1997. Osteological development of the caudal skeleton in the carangid,
Research Seriola lalandi. Ichthyol. Res., 44 (2): 219-221.
9 Ichthyological Society of Japan 19~7 Ke]) words'. --Seriola talandi; ossification; urostyle; ural centrum.
he morphological variety has encouraged re-
T searchers to describe the caudal skeleton of
various fish species (Fujita, 1990). The develop-
mental patterns have also been considered im-
portant clues for the interpretation of higher-
level phylogenetic relationships (Kohno and
Taki, 1983). Accordingly, there exists a need to
continue collecting information on caudal skele-
ton development, despite the data already accu-
mulated for many species (e.g., works of Pot-
thoff [see Potthoff and Tellock, t993] and Fujita
[see Fujita, 1994; Ichiyanagi and Fujita, 1995]).
The present study describes the development of
the caudal skeleton in Seriola lalandi, providing
a comparison with Katsuyama (1989) and Tachi-
hara et at. (1993), who described such develop-
ment in Seriola quinqueradiata and S. dumerili,
respectively.
Materials and Methods
Larvae and juveniles used in this study had
been reared in Gotoh Station, Japan Sea Farming
Association in 1991, the number of specimens
examined being 47 (3.74-11.54 m m body length
[BL], 1-21 days after hatching). These speci-
mens were cleared and stained following the
method of Potthoff (1984), and deposited in the
Museum, Tokyo University of Fisheries (MTUF-
P(L) 803).
Results
No caudal skeleton elements were apparent in
specimens of 4.74 m m BL and smaller, a straight
notochord being solely observed.
Hypurals 1 and 2 appeared first as cartilagi-
nous buds at 4 . 7 8 m m BL (Fig. 1A: 4 . 8 t m m
BL), with a cartilaginous parhypuraI being
added at 5.03 m m BE (Fig. 1B). In a specimen
of 5.44 m m BL (Fig. 1C), hypurals 1 and 2 were
fused with each other at their proximal and distal
parts, leaving a small hole in the center, and the
parhypural was also fused with hypurals l and 2
at their proximal bases. Hypurals 3 and 4 ap-
peared first at 5.44mm BL, the latter being
faintly stained and partially fused with the for-
mer (Fig~ 1C), although no such fusion was ob-
served in a 5.53 mm BL specimen (Fig. 1D). Hy-
pural 5 was first observed at 6.92 mm BL (Fig.
1E), at which time ossification had started in the
parhypural and hypurats I-4. Ossification of hy-
pural 5 was first observed at 7.89 m m BL (Fig.
1G), the parhypurapophysis (=hypurapophysis
of Nursall [ 1963]; see Potthoff, 1975) also being
apparent. With growth, ossification proceeded,
being almost completed by 10.10mm BL (Fig.
1I), the proximal parts of the parhypural and hy-
purals 1-5 alone remaining cartilaginous.
Two cartilaginous epurals were first observed
at 5.44mm BL (Fig. 1C), with a third being
added at 5.53 m m BL (Fig. 1D). Thereafter, the
number of epurals varied individually from three
to four (Fig. 1E-I), although the usual number of
epurals in the species is three (Fujita, 1990). Ini-
tial ossification of the epurals was observed at
7.09mm BL (Fig. 1F). Further ossification pro-
ceeded with growth, becoming completed by
10.10mm BL (Fig. iI), except for the distal
edges which remained cartilaginous.
A 5.44mm BL specimen had a specialized
neural arch (Potthoff, 1975), neural spines of
preural centra 3 and 4 and haemal spines of
preural centra 2-4 (Fig. I C). Ossification of the
neural and haemal spines began at 7.09 m m BL
220 H. K o h n o

Fig. 1. Development of the caudal skeleton in Seriola lalandi, left lateral view. A) 4.81 mm BL;
B) 5.03 mm BL; C) 5.44 mm BL; D) 5.53 mm BL; E) 6.92 mm BL; F) 7.09 mm BL; G) 7.89 mm
BL; H) 8.70 mm BL; I) 10.10 mm BL. Stippled area, cartilage; open area, ossification, except for
notochord. Scale bars indicate 0.1 mm. Ep--epural; Hs--haemal spine: Hyl-5--hypurals 1-5;
'Na'--specialized neural arch; Nc--notochord; Ns--neural spine: Ph--parhypural; PhP--parhy-
purapophysis; PUl--preural centrum 1; U1, 2--ural centra 1, 2; Unl, 2--uroneurals 1, 2; Us--
urostyte.

(Fig. 1F), except for the specialized neural arch,
which started ossifying at 7.89mm BL (Fig.
1G). The neural and haemal spines of preural
centrum 4 were completely ossified at 8.70mm
BL (Fig. 1H). In a 10.10mm BL specimen (Fig.
11), the base of the haemal spines of preural cen-
tra 2 and 3 remained cartilaginous, although the
haemal spine o f preural centrum 3 was de-
formed.
Two bony elements, preural centrum 1 +ural
centrum 1 and ural centrum 2, were observed on
the upper part o f the flexing notochord at
6.92 mm BL (Fig. 1E), a small bony chip of
preural centrum 4 also appearing at the base of
the neural spine. Preural centrum l+ural cen-
trum 1 and ural centrum 2 were clearly observed
in 7.09 (Fig. 1F) and 7.15mm BL specimens.
Small bony chips, representing preural centra 2 -
4, were apparent at the bases of the neural and
haemal arches at 7.09 mm BL (Fig. 1F). Preural
centra 2 and 4 first completely encircled the no-
tochord at 7.15 mm BL, with preural centrum 3
doing so at 7.31 mm BL, although the latter had
not developed in a 7.89 m m BL specimen (Fig.
1G). Ural centra I and 2 were fused together to
form the urostyle at 7 . 3 1 m m BL (Fig. 1G:
7.89 mm BL).
A bony uroneural appeared first at 7.12 mm
BL (Fig. 1G: 7.89mm BL), with second being
observed at 8.70 mm BL (Fig. 1H).
Remarks
The caudal skeleton o f Seriola talandi ob-
served in this study developed in the same man-
ner as in other Seriola species reported by Ka-
tsuyama (1989) and Tachihara et al. (I 993).
Kohno and Taki (1983) and Fujita (1990) re-
viewed briefly works describing the development
of the caudal skeleton. The urostyle of perci-
forms has been considered as being derived from
a preural centrum and two ural centra (Ahlstrom:
 C a r a n g i d C a u d a l Skeleton D e v e l o p m e n t
pers. comm. in Potthoff [1975]), The present
study demonstrated that the urostyle was formed
by fusion of at least two elements, considered to
be preural centrum 1 +ural centrum 1 and ural
centrum 2 (Fig. 1E). The fusion of two elements
to form a urostyle was earlier reported by Kohno
et al. (1983) for Pagrus major, such elements
being labeled as ural centra 1 and 2.
Acknowledgments.- I thank the following persons
for their advice and technical support: K. Fujita, B.-I.
Lee and Y. Narisawa, Tokyo University of Fisheries;
and Y. Mizuta and K. Maruyama, Japan Sea Farming
Association.
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