AGE AND GROWTH OF THE ANGLERFISH LOPHIOMUS-SETIGERUS IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

Age and growth of the anglerfish Lophiomus setigerus were examined usi ng vertebral centra from specimens collected in the East China Sea dur ing the period from March 1991 to February 1996. Monthly changes in th e frequency of appearance of a translucent band on the outer margin of the centrum and in the marginal increments indicated,that ring marks form once a year, primarily from November through December. The body p roportional hypothesis method was used to estimate the back-calculated total lengths. Male specimens possessed 1-8 ring marks while females had 1-11 ring marks. Using the back-calculated total lengths, growth o f male anglerfish was expressed as TLt=379.2(1-e(-0.193(t-0.300))) (t less than or equal to 8) and TLt=528.4(1-e(-0.140(t-0.264))) (t less t han or equal to 11) for females. Our results suggested that females gr ow faster and live longer than males.