| Popis: |
While ocean sunfishes hold the vertebrate record for having the most ova in a single female, information on the natural history of their larvae and juveniles has yet to be collated. This chapter includes the most comprehensive compilation of larval molid records to date, and places the records within a global spatial context. Gathered from natural history museum collections, modern ichthyoplankton sampling efforts and historical records dating back to the 1800s, a total of 452 records were collected comprising 9,770 larvae in total: 285 Masturus, 84 Mola spp., 61 unspecified Molidae and 9,340 Ranzania (340 of which were eggs). Ranzania was primarily reported from the Sargasso Sea, Northern Brazil, Hawai’i and southern Polynesia. Masturus, were reported from the Sargasso Sea and at scattered locations across both Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins. Lastly, for Mola spp., records existed for Eastern Australia and the Eastern USA. Larval stages of early development for each molid genera are identified, described, and illustrated with original drawings. Larval records also include larvae extracted from the guts of 26 different predator species: 17 large pelagic piscivorous fishes from six families, and nine seabirds species from five families. While this chapter cannot be considered an exhaustive compilation of all molid larval knowledge, it does provide a foundation on which to build a more extensive molid larval database. It also underscores the importance of collecting hydrographic metadata to accompany each record. We hope that future studies can use this review to help locate additional spawning sites and achieve the critical mass of data required for habitat suitability modelling. Such a vantage point would allow an assessment of how spawning sites may be impacted by ongoing environmental and anthropogenic changes and inform management plans. |
