Comparative Notes on Postlarvae and Pelagic Juveniles of the Rocklings Gaidropsaurus Mediterraneus, Rhinonemus Cimbrius, Ciliata Mustela and C. Septentrionalis

Abstract

Five species of rockling: Gaidropsaurus vulgaris (Cloquet), G. mediterraneus (L.), Rhinonemus (Enchelyopus) cimbrius (L.), Ciliata mustela (L.) and C. septentrionalis (Collett), are commonly recorded from British waters. With the exception of G. mediterraneus, which has not been recorded from the North Sea, the other four species occur all round the British coasts. Two additional species have recently been added to the list of British fishes, Antonogadus macrophthalmus (Günther), a southern boreal species and Onogadus argentatus (Reinhardt), a northern boreal species (Wheeler, 1969; Russell, 1976). The identity of adult A. macrophthalmus is, however, still in confusion. It is not clearly known if it is a different species from A. megalokynodon Kolombotovic (a species which occurs in the Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic waters), since both of them are considered as synonyms of G. biscayensis (Collett) (Bini, 1970; Tortonese, 1970; Svetovidov, 1973). Cohen & Russo (1979) have since relegated Onogadus and Antonogadus to synonyms of Gaidropsaurus, though the exact number of species is uncertain.