Abstract
The morphological development of larval and juvenile grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, was examined in a hatchery-reared series. By about 4mm body length (BL), the larvae had developed pigment patterns peculiar to groupers, such as melanophores on the dorsal part of the gut, on the tip of the second dorsal and pelvic-fin spines, and in a cluster on the ventral side of the tail. The spines characteristic of groupers, such as spinelets on the second dorsal and pelvic-fin spines, the preopercular angle spine and the supraocular spine, started to develop by about 5mm BL. The notochord end was in the process of flexion in larvae of 5 to 6mm BL, by which time major spines and pigments had started to appear. The fin ray counts attained the adult complement at about 8mm BL. Major spines disappeared by 15-16mm BL, from which size, more or less densely-pigmented patches started to appear on the body. In juveniles larger than 20-22mm BL, the lengths of the second dorsal and pelvic-fin spines in relation to BL became stable.
