01282nas a2200157 4500008004100000245009500041210006900136260001600205300001200221490000700233520063800240100002000878700001800898700002100916856018700937 2023 eng d00aDescription of the Pre-Settlement Larvae of Sphoeroides spengleri (Pisces: Tetraodontidae)0 aDescription of the PreSettlement Larvae of Sphoeroides spengleri cJan-07-2023 aN52-N570 v223 a

We verified pre-settlement Sphoeroides spengleri (Bandtail Puffer) larvae by genetic sequencing and herein describe their morphology and pigmentation. The lead author collected the specimens on a North Carolina beach among stranded Sargassum, which may represent the first record of this species in the Sargassum community along the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Cleared and stained specimens exhibited a declivitous vertebral column that has been reported in few other members of the Tetraodontiformes.

1 aSchmidt, R., E.1 aWright, J., J1 aMcMullin, E., R. uhttps://bioone.org/journals/southeastern-naturalist/volume-22/issue-3/058.022.0307/Description-of-the-Pre-Settlement-Larvae-of-Sphoeroides-spengleri-Pisces/10.1656/058.022.0307.short