Morphology of the otolith of the greater lizardfish Saurida tumbil (Pisces: Synodontidae)

The otolith of the greater lizardfish, Saurida tumbil, was described from a series of otolith specimens collected from fish belonging to different length groups. The results showed the presence of two groups of characters: (1) characters that are consistent in the otolith morphology of fishes of different length groups; and (2) characters that vary due to ontogenetic changes, but that may be useful to define certain developmental stages. The characters of S. tumbil studied in the present work were compared with those available from the description of otoliths of other Saurida species on record. The results showed that S. tumbil has acquired peculiar characteristics that separate it from the other species.