Lutjanidae: K III A8

Paracaesio xanthura (Bleeker, 1869)

Protea; Yellowtail fusilier

Egg diameter in µm	Number of oil globules	Diameter of oil globule in µm	Yolk texture	Perivitelline space	Position of oil globule at hatch	Gut length   at eye- pigment stage	Myomeres
820-910	1	145-170	clear	narrow	bow	42% of NL	24-25

Egg:. This egg usually has an oblong oil globule, which is unusual. Having an incubation period of <48 hours, I always see this egg in a fairly advanced stage of incubation, not due to hatch for another 12 hours or so, implying evening spawning. The embryo is peppered with black dots; more and bigger towards the tail, and on the yolk near the trunk of the embryo. Incubation is about 35 hours. There are usually 1 or 2 black spots on the oil globule, which is clear. The PVS can be wider than usual in some eggs.

Larva: This larva was separated from the next (KIIIA9), by the presence of a line of black on the anal tube (C, D & E, arrowed), and a slightly broader girth. At 4 days, the larva retains the dark spot at the anus (G). C: NH, D: 1 day, E: 2 days, F: 3 days, G: 4 days (24°C).

All attempts to rear this egg were unsuccessful. The DNA barcode sequences of 18 hatched larvae, are currently available. Sixteen of these match 3 locally collected P. xanthura adult sequences (BOLD reference, but see also KIIIA9), while 2 match the closely related Paracaesio sordida, of which there are 2 locally collected adult sequences in BOLD . Clearly I need to combine KIIIA8 and part of KIIIA9. P. xanthura is by far the most common lutjanid off Park Rynie, with shoals commonly seen over reefs at 30-40m.

The egg showed a summer presence off Park Rynie (blue graph). It was only seen once in the DHM samples, in January. At Park Rynie, the egg has shown an erratic presence (white graph). In the Park Rynie linked samples, the eggs were more common inshore (52%), indicating spawning on the 20-30m contours. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more information on the linked samples.

Linked samples	Offshore	Inshore
Eggs	726	775
Hits	24	18