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1 October 2012 Offshore Spawning for the Newly Discovered Anguillid Species Anguilla luzonensis (Teleostei: Anguillidae) in the Western North Pacific
Mari Kuroki, Michael J. Miller, Jun Aoyama, Shun Watanabe, Tatsuki Yoshinaga, Katsumi Tsukamoto
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Abstract

A new anguillid eel species, Anguilla luzonensis, was recently discovered on Luzon Island of the northern Philippines, but little is known about its life history. DNA identification was used to determine that five leptocephali of this species (29.2–51.2 mm) were collected offshore in the western North Pacific (13°–17.5° N, 125°–141° E) in April, June, and July between 2002 and 2009. One leptocephalus was caught west of Luzon and four were close to the spawning areas of Anguilla japonica and Anguilla marmorata. Otolith microstructure showed that the leptocephali were up to 103–138 days old. Glass eels from northern Luzon in previous studies that were thought to be Anguilla celebesensis now appear likely to have been A. luzonensis, and they were estimated by otolith analysis to have long larval durations similar to those of A. marmorata. Estimated hatching dates of these glass eels and the A. luzonensis leptocephali were both in the February to May season. Offshore presence of leptocephali of A. luzonensis and direction of ocean currents suggest that this species migrates offshore to spawn in the North Equatorial Current.

© 2012 by University of Hawai‘i Press
Mari Kuroki, Michael J. Miller, Jun Aoyama, Shun Watanabe, Tatsuki Yoshinaga, and Katsumi Tsukamoto "Offshore Spawning for the Newly Discovered Anguillid Species Anguilla luzonensis (Teleostei: Anguillidae) in the Western North Pacific," Pacific Science 66(4), 497-507, (1 October 2012). https://doi.org/10.2984/66.4.7
Accepted: 1 December 2011; Published: 1 October 2012
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