Early Development of Cephalic Skeleton in Hatchery-Reared Gilthead Seabream, Sparus aurata

Abstract

The development of the cephalic skeleton in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, (L. 1758), larvae was examined from 1 to 41 days post-hatching during the early ontogeny under intensive culture conditions. At hatching, S. aurata larvae had a 2.68 mm total length (TL) and were devoid of any cephalic elements. At 2.85 mm TL, the trabecular bars and the ethmoid plate appeared. Development of jaws started during the yolk-sac stage. Teeth first appeared at larval stage (7.78 mm TL) and gill filaments formed at size of between 8.05 and 8.9 mm TL. Finally, the dentary, maxillary and Meckel's cartilage began to ossify at 9.20 mm TL. It is concluded that cartilaginous elements and structures could be related with vital functions in S. aurata larvae. Also, onset time of skull was found differently although same developmental pattern of skull has been described for most Sparidae species to date.