The first record of the eggs of black wing flyingfish Hirundichthys rondeletii (Valenciennes, 1846) in the Turkish nearshores of the Aegean Sea (Gümüldür)

Authors: ORÇİN UYGUN, BELGİN HOŞSUCU

Abstract: Hirundichthys rondeletii is among the three flyingfish species showing distribution in the Turkish seas. However, the egg stages of Exocoetidae species found in the Turkish waters have not been documented. Flyingfish eggs were randomly obtained on 16 July 2016 on the coast of Gümüldür, at a depth of approximately 1 m from a sandy bottom. Samples were fixed in a 4% buffered formaldehyde solution. The eggs were described and illustrated. The diameters of spherical fish eggs were between 1.75 mm and 2.05 mm. They have bipolar filaments: a single filament on one pole and 28-33 filaments on the other pole. The maximum length of these filaments was 73 mm. Vitellus in the eggs was homogeneous and did not contain oil globules. The total egg number determined with the gravimetric method was 4319.91 $\pm$ 22. This is the first record of the eggs of black wing flyingfish H. rondeletii found in the Turkish waters.

Keywords: Black wing flyingfish, Exocoetidae, fish egg, ichthyoplankton, Aegean Sea

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