Abstract
The eggs, larvae and pelagic juveniles of Ostracion meleagris, Lactoria fornasini and Lactoria diaphana were identified from reared and field collected specimens from Hawaii, Japan, Australia and the eastern Pacific.Eggs are large and pelagic with limited chorion ornamentation and a cluster of oil droplets.At hatching, larvae are well developed, rotund, and enclosed in a dermal sac.The sac disappears and dermal plates form prior to notochord flexion.Larvae of the three species can be distinguished by their pigment patterns and development of the carapace of ossified dermal plates.Eggs of the three species could not be distinguished.The larval stage ends at a small size (<6mm) but the juveniles may grow to a substantial size while remaining pelagic.L.diaphana matures and spawns while pelagic in the eastern Pacific.
