Development and ecology of larvae of the monotypic Australian fish family Dinolestidae

The development and seasonal distribution of larvae of Dinolestes lewini. t he sole species of the endemic Australian family Dinolestidae, are describe d for the first time using larvae 1.88-14.13 mm in body length caught in so uth-eastern Australia. Larvae have a moderately deep body, 27-29 myomeres, a moderate to large head, a large mouth with prominent, early-forming prema xillary teeth, small to moderate preopercular spines, a coiled and compact gut, and are moderately pigmented. Notochord flexion takes place between 4. 8 and 7.0 mm and transformation at a size >14 mm. Larvae closely resemble t hose of Apogonops (Acropomatidae), Pomatomus (Pomatomidae) and Sco,nbn (Sco mbridae), genera that have been postulated to be related to Dinolestes, but can be distinguished using a combination of myomere and Fin-ray counts, an d pigmentation. Larvae have been caught in marine waters off central New So uth Wales between January and November, and off western Victoria in late Ja nuary, at depths between 30 and 0 m and within 8 nautical miles of the coas t. The limited data on larval occurrence in New South Wales indicate that D . lewini spawns over an extended period, with a peak in autumn/winter.