• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.44-54
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• 1992

The blenniid fish, Pictiblennius yatabei(Jordan et Snyder) is ditributed in the central and southern Japan and southern Korea. The fish grows to a maximum size of 9cm in total length, and it seems to be matured in two years. Sex dimorphisms of the fish appear in the crest and the anal fin. Five egg masses of the fish were collected in Tongyoung Bay near Kyeong Nam on June 16 and 20, 1991. The eggs were laid on inner surface of empty shells of the oyster, Crassotrea gigas and blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. Each egg mass was guarded by the male parent. Numbers of eggs in each of masses were as about 450~1000.The eggs were spherical but somewhat oval in shape and ranged from 0.72 to 0.80mm in longer axis and from 0.55 to 0.65mm in shorter axis. Each egg was provided with an adhesive pedestal. Hatching took place in 105 hours after formation of embyo at the water temperature varying from 20.0 to $21.4^{\circ}C$. Melanophores appearing on the yolk remarkably changed in form during the embryonic development.The newly hatched larvae, having 32~34 somites, were from 2.71 to 3.35mm in total length. The larvae absorbed the yolk material and oil globule completely in 7 days after hatching and became postlarvae. Nine days after hatching, the larvae averaged 5.35mm in TL and the caudal notochord flex at $45^{\circ}$ Total lengths of the larvae reached 6.00 and 6.58mm in 11 and 13 days after the hatching, respectively.