NOAA Professional Paper 15 October 2013 Guide to the identifi cation of larval and early juvenile pricklebacks (Perciformes: Zoarcoidei: Stichaeidae) in the northeastern Pacifi c Ocean and Bering Sea Ann C. Matarese Deborah M. Blood Morgan S. Busby U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA Professional Penny S. Pritzker Secretary of Commerce Papers NMFS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Kathryn D. Sullivan Scientifi c Editor Acting Administrator Bruce C. Mundy Associate Editor National Marine Kathryn Dennis Fisheries Service National Marine Fisheries Service Samuel D. Rauch III Pacifi c Islands Fisheries Science Center Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Aiea Heights Research Facility 99-193 Aiea Heights Drive, Suite 417 Aiea, Hawaii 96701-3911 Managing Editor Shelley Arenas National Marine Fisheries Service Scientifi c Publications Offi ce 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, Washington 98115 Editorial Committee Ann C. Matarese National Marine Fisheries Service James W. 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Use of funds sional Papers are published online in PDF format at http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov for printing of this series has been ap- proved by the Director of the Offi ce NOTICE: This series was established in 2003 to replace the NOAA Technical Report of Management and Budget. NMFS series. NOAA Professional Paper 15 Guide to the identifi cation of larval and early juvenile pricklebacks (Perciformes: Zoarcoidei: Stichaeidae) in the northeastern Pacifi c Ocean and Bering Sea Ann C. Matarese Deborah M. Blood Morgan S. Busby October 2013 U.S. Department of Commerce Seattle, Washington Suggested reference Matarese, Ann C., Deborah M. Blood, and Morgan S. Busby. Guide to the identifi - cation of larval and early juvenile pricklebacks (Perciformes: Zoarcoidei: Stichaei- dae) in the northeastern Pacifi c Ocean and Bering Sea. 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CONTENTS Introduction . 1 Materials and methods . 3 Overall comparisons . 7 Family . 7 Subfamilies . 7 Subfamily Stichaeinae . 7 Stichaeus punctatus . 7 Subfamily Chirolophinae . 11 Bryozoichthys lysimus . 11 Bryozoichthys marjorius . 15 Chirolophis decoratus . 20 Chirolophis nugator . 25 Gymnoclinus cristulatus . 28 Subfamily Lumpeninae . 30 Lumpenella longirostris . 30 Lumpenus fabricii . 34 Lumpenus maculatus . 38 Lumpenus medius . 42 Lumpenus sagitta . 45 Poroclinus rothrocki . 50 Subfamily Opisthocentrinae . 54 Opisthocentrus ocellatus . 54 Plectobranchus evides . 56 Subfamily Xiphisterinae . 59 Alectrias spp. 59 Anoplarchus insignis . 61 Anoplarchus purpurescens . 65 Cebidichthys violaceus . 69 Other material . 72 Discussion . 77 Larval characters: relationships within family Stichaeidae. 78 Larval characters: relationships within suborder Zoarcoidei . 79 Acknowledgments . 81 Literature cited . 82 Appendix . 86 iii 1 Abstract—Stichaeidae, commonly Guide to the identifi cation of larval and early referred to as pricklebacks, are in- tertidal and subtidal fishes primarily juvenile pricklebacks (Perciformes: Zoarcoidei: of the North Pacific Ocean. Broad Stichaeidae) in the northeastern Pacifi c Ocean distribution in relatively inacces- sible and undersampled habitats has and Bering Sea contributed to a general lack of in- formation about this family. In this study, descriptions of early life histo- Ann C. Matarese (contact author) ry stages are presented for 25 species Deborah M. Blood representing 18 genera of stichaeid fishes from the northeastern Pacific Morgan S. Busby Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean Basin. Six of these species also occur Recruitment Processes Program in the North Atlantic Ocean. Larval Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division Alaska Fisheries Science Center stages of 16 species are described for National Marine Fisheries Service the first time. Additional information National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or illustrations intended to augment 7600 Sand Point Way NE previous descriptions are provided Seattle, Washington 98115 for nine species. For most taxa, we present adult and larval distribu- Email address for contact author: [email protected] tions, descriptions of morphometric, meristic, and pigmentation charac- ters, and species comparisons, and we provide illustrations for preflex- ion through postflexion or transfor- mation stages. New counts of meris- tic features are reported for several species. Introduction ing of recruitment and survival of in- tertidal and nearshore fi shes. Stichaeidae, commonly referred to as Stichaeids have elongate, slightly pricklebacks, are intertidal and sub- compressed bodies with numerous tidal fi shes primarily of the North Pa- sharp spines in the dorsal fi n. They cifi c Ocean and Bering Sea; a few spe- are related most closely to the Pholi- cies also are found in the Arctic and dae, Zoarcidae, and other zoarcoid North Atlantic oceans (Table 1). They fi shes but can be distinguished by a are commonly found under rocks and combination of the following char- among algae in the intertidal zone or acters: spinous dorsal fi n continuous in shallow bays and reported to occur along the entire body or with some at depths ≥250 m on the outer conti- soft rays posteriorly; anal fi n with 0–5 nental shelf and upper slope (Meck- anterior spines; pelvic fi n, when pres- lenburg and Sheiko, 2004). High di- ent, that has one spine and up to four versity (76 species in 37 genera) and rays; teeth simple; and ribs, intercalar broad distribution in relatively inac- bone, and bony actinosts (proximal cessible and undersampled habitats pectoral radials) present (Anderson, have contributed to a general lack 1984, 1994). Historically, Makushok of information about this family. Al- (1958) divided Stichaeidae into eight though not commercially important, subfamilies. Although Makushok’s stichaeids are important in ecological (1958) comprehensive study has been interactions as forage for commercial accepted for many years, provid- and noncommercial fishes, marine ing insight into character evolution, birds, and marine mammals of the identification, and classification of ecosystems of the North Pacifi c Ocean known stichaeid species, not all taxa and Bering Sea (Golet et al., 2000). were examined in that study. The cur- Information about stichaeid early life rent classifi cation of Stichaeidae with history is essential to our understand- six subfamilies results from cladistic 2 Professional Paper NMFS 15 Table 1 Distribution of Stichaeidae in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacifi c Ocean with the current status of early life history descriptions based on this study. Early life history Number Taxon Distribution1 of species Published Updated New STICHAEINAE 2 Eumesogrammus praecisus Sea of Okhotsk; Beaufort–Bering Seas; X2 Arctic–W North Atlantic Stichaeus punctatus Okhotsk and Japan Seas; Beaufort Sea– Faber (1976); Farwell et al. X North Pacifi c; Arctic–W North Atlantic (1976); Haryu et al. (1985); Fahay (1983, 2007) CHIROLOPHINAE 7 Bryozoichthys lysimus Sea of Okhotsk–N Sea of Japan; Shiogaki and Haryu X3 Bering Sea–N Gulf of Alaska (1988) Bryozoichthys marjorius Aleutian Is.–S British Columbia X Chirolophis decoratus E Bering Sea, Aleutian Is.–N Calif. X Chirolophis nugator Aleutian Is.–S Calif. X Chirolophis snyderi W Bering Sea–Sea of Okhotsk; Grigor’ev (1992a) X Chukchi Sea–W Gulf of Alaska Chirolophis tarsodes North Pacifi c and Kodiak Is.– N British Columbia Gymnoclinus cristulatus Hokkaido; Commander Is.– Tokuya and.