FIRST-YEAR GROWTH OF LONGNOSE GAR (LEPISOSTEUS OSSEUS) FROM ZYGOTE TO AUTUMN JUVENILE.

Matthews, William J.; Shelton, William L.; Marsh-Matthews, Edie

We determined total growth of an individual longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus, from Lake Texoma, Oklahoma-Texas, from 18 May 2010 when the egg was spawned and fertilized in the reservoir, until 31 October (166 days later), when we recovered it as a juvenile from a small pond where it had been housed throughout the growing season. Total length was 261 mm, equivalent to a mean growth of 1.57 mm/day. This is the first determination of growth for this species during its first year of life, beginning with a known date of formation of the zygote in the wild.

LAKE Texoma (Okla. & Tex.); OKLAHOMA; TEXAS; GARS; FISH growth; INFANCY of fishes; FISH embryology; FERTILIZATION (Biology); ZYGOTES

Southwestern Naturalist, 2012, Vol 57, Issue 3, p335

0038-4909

Academic Journal

10.1894/0038-4909-57.3.338