A Description of the Pelagic Juvenile of Pyramodon lindas (Ophidiiformes: Carapidae) from the Western Indian Ocean
An illustrated description of the juvenile (9.7 mm head length) of Pyramodon lindas from the Indian Ocean is given for the first time. The specimen is compared with the previously described vexillifer larvae of P. ventralis and P. punctatus. The juvenile of P. lindas is clearly distinguished from the other species of Pyramodon by the number of pectoral-fin rays and its pigmentation pattern. This is the first record of this species in the western Indian Ocean north of Madagascar.
The juvenile of Pyramodon lindas, 97+ mm TL (9.7 mm HL) general view. Scale 1 cm.
Visceral cradle of the juvenile of Pyramodon lindas, 9.7 mm HL: (A) first 19 anal-fin proximal radials; (B) 10th and 11th anal-fin radials (rotated 90° from the view in 2A). Proximal radials that are colored gray are bent to the left, radials that are unshaded are bent to the right.
The axial skeleton, proximal radial element, and the swim bladder of the juvenile of Pyramodon lindas, 9.7 mm HL: ac, accessory cartilage; mpr, modified proximal radial (predorsal bone); pve, proximal vexillar element; sb, swim bladder; sns, second neural spine.
Contributor Notes
Associate Editor: T. Grande.