• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.164-174
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• 2016

Tanakius kitaharae and Glyptocephalus stelleri, belonging to the family Pleuronectidae, were very similar in external morphology not only during adult periods, but also during larval periods. In this study, we compared larval development and growth of the two pleuronectids species in detail. Fifty-eight specimens of T. kitaharae larvae and five specimens of G. stelleri larvae were collected from the East Sea, southern Korean Strait, and the adjacent waters of Jeju Island during 2014~2016, and were identified using morphological and molecular markers. Flexion larvae of T. kitaharae (10.23~16.77 mm total length, TL) and G. stelleri (14.33 mm TL) were similar in morphometrics, but can be distinguished by the melanophores in the fin membranes (present in the former vs. absent in the latter), and the melanophores at posterior margin of shoulder girdle (absent in the former vs. present in the latter). Postflexion larvae of T. kitaharae (17.12~24.92 mm TL) and G. stelleri (27.71~32.95 mm TL) differed in the number of melanophores on the mid-lateral caudal region (two in the former vs. five in the latter), and that on the dorsal and anal fin pterygiophores (five or six in the former vs. one row in the latter). Tanakius kitaharae and G. stelleri larvae differed in size at the beginning of metamorphosis. The left eye of T. kitaharae larvae between 23.13~24.92 mm TL reached the dorsal margin of the head while that of G. stelleri larvae between 38.66~42.67 mm TL did not reached yet.