none |
normal (not striking) |
other |
none |
|
|
|
|
|
ventral row |
melanophores on head |
dorsal + ventral + lateral row |
one dorso-ventral cluster or band |
melanophores on head + trunk |
covered with melanophores |
normal without melanophores |
normal (i.e. small or absent) without melanophores |
Diagnostic characters: pigment pattern without bands; presence of hypaxial pigment; presence of pigment around urostyle.
Pigment: series of ventral midline melanophores extending around urostyle; several spots above notochord, number increases with development; during flexion, pigment develops along hypaxial myomeres; initially, gut pigment restricted to dorsal and anteroventral surface; with development it extends posterodorsally and along ventral surface.
Sequence of fin development: caudal, dorsal and anal, pelvics, pectorals. |