| Diagnostic characters: cross-hatched pattern of muscle fibers visible until 12 mm; anus migrates anteriorly from myomere 33 to 26 between 2.9 and 32.2 mm; posterior end of dorsal fin overlaps anterior end of anal fin by up to 3 myomeres; no melanophores along dorsal surface of hindgut prior to flexion stage.
Pigmentation: larvae are lightly pigmented. Pigment varies in intensity depending on the locality; larvae caught in estuaries such as Wilson Inlet tend to be more heavily pigmented than those caught in marine waters (Ref. 33832).
Sequence of fin development: dorsal (4.5-12.7 mm); caudal 5.0-11.1 mm); anal (5.0-13.3 mm); pelvic (13.8-20.2 mm); pectoral 20.2->32.2 mm).
Gas bladder inflated only in larvae caught at night (Ref. 33832). Gut initially very long, long in transforming larvae, straight with striated hindgut (Ref. 33832).
Larvae have been caught in Western Australia in the Swan and Nornalup-Walpole estuaries, and in Wilson Inlet in most months, with peak abundances between October and December (Ref. 33819, 33834, 33835, 33820); in Victoria in Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes (Ref. 26501, 26502, 28472); and in New South Wales in Lake Macquarie, Tuggerak Lakes, and in coastal waters of northern and central New South Wales, and off Sydney (Ref. 33821, 33621, 33622). |