A guide to the eggs and larvae of 100 common Western Mediterranean Sea bony fish species

Book excerpt: This guide presents the egg and larval descriptions of 100 species of fishes belonging to 55 families, which are most likely to be present in plankton samples collected in the continental shelf and oceanic waters of the Western Mediterranean Sea. The guide is structured in two parts. The first introductory part describes the different applications of ichthyoplankton studies in fisheries research, the main sampling strategies, methods and gears, the early life history of fishes and how to identify them. A brief historical account of ichthyoplankton identification studies in the Mediterranean Sea is also provided. The second part of the guide contains the identification sheets of the species. Each species sheet includes the following information: illustration of the adult fish and information on its habitat and spawning season; description of the main features useful towards identifying the egg, yolk sac and larval stage of each fish species; illustrations and (when available) photos of the different life stages.