Description of the Pre-settlement Larvae of Sphoeroides spengleri (Pisces: Tetraodontidae)

Robert E. Schmidt^1,*, Jeremy J. Wright², and Erin R. McMullin³

¹Adjunct Curator of Fishes, New York State Museum, 145 Jordan Road, Troy, NY 12180. ²Curator of Fishes, New York State Museum, 3140 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230. ³Ashfield MedComms, 41 Welcome Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023): N52–N57

Abstract
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.

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