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Leptocephali

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Eel Biology

Abstract

The anguillid leptocephalus is one of the most distinctive larvae of anguilliform fishes and has an olive leaf-like shape, no melanophores, and relatively few myomeres. The smallest anguillid larvae (Anguilla anguilla) ever collected was about 5 mm in total length (TL) and the larva contained a large, quite distinct oil globule (Schmidt 1922). The sizes of full-grown larvae are variable among species, ranging from 50 to 80 mm TL (Jespersen 1942; Castle 1963; Tabeta and Takai 1975; Smith 1989). Recent progress in otolith microstructure analysis has provided considerable knowledge about the growth and developmental events of the larvae (Tabeta et al. 1987; Umezawa et al. 1989; Tsukamoto et al. 1989, 1992; Otake et al. 1994; Arai et al. 2001). Furthermore, recent studies have finally confirmed longtime speculation about the diet of leptocephali by the discovery of detrital materials such as larvacean houses and zooplankton fecal pellets in their gut (Otake et al. 1993; Otake and Mochioka 1994; Mochioka and Iwamizu 1996; Otake 1996). In this chapter, I review recent studies on the leptocephalus larvae and discuss future research possibilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Fisheries Biology, Division of Marine Bioresources, Department of Animal and Marine Bioresource Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan

    Noritaka Mochioka

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  1. Noritaka Mochioka
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Bioscience, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, 113-8657, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsumi Aida Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 1-15-1 Minamidai, 164-8639, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsumi Tsukamoto Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  3. Division of Marine Biosciences, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minatomachi, 041-8611, Hakodate, Japan

    Kohei Yamauchi Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Tokyo

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Mochioka, N. (2003). Leptocephali. In: Aida, K., Tsukamoto, K., Yamauchi, K. (eds) Eel Biology. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65907-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65907-5_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-65909-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-65907-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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