Morphological malformations of the lateral line in reared gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L. 1758)

A general description of the morphological modifications of the lateral lin e in gilthead sea bream, reared under hatchery conditions, is provided. Far m-reared fish were examined and compared to wild fish. We used the presence of a pore on the specialized scales of the lateral line to determine the d ensity and distribution of associated sensory neuromasts. The malformations of the lateral line were: zigzag with missing sector, wavy with missing se ctor, several scattered missing sectors, and several consecutive missing se ctors. These abnormalities occurred in 71.0-86.2% of the reared fish, depen ding on the hatchery. They did not occur in wild fish. The possible behavio ur consequences for gilthead sea bream of deficient sensory reception are c onsidered. in addition, the suitability of these abnormalities for use as i ndividual markers in different types of studies is proposed. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.