Early developmental stages of the Cockatoo righteye flounder Samaris cristatus gray, 1831 (Pleuronectiformes: Samaridae) from the South China Sea, identified using DNA barcoding

Abstract

This study examines the late embryonic and early larval development (until first feeding) of the Cockatoo righteye flounder Samaris cristatus. The chronology of development and a detailed morphological description of the eggs, embryos, prelarvae, and early larvae are presented. The eggs of S. cristatus were obtained from ichthyoplankton catches, which were performed in the coastal waters of central Vietnam, and incubated under laboratory conditions at a temperature of approximately 24°C. The taxonomic identification was carried out by the method of DNA barcoding based on analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (CO1) gene.