Page 64 - 《水产学报》2025年第12期

冯双源，等 水产学报, 2025, 49(12): 129605

Allometric growth pattern and development of Monopterus albus at
larvae and juvenile stages

FENG Shuangyuan , SU Jialin , YANG Jiaqi , XU Hongyan , FENG Ke *
Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (Chongqing) Science City,
Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education,
College of Fisheries, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China

Abstract: Monopterus albus is a tropical and warm temperate fish, which is an important freshwater economic fish in China,
and has the phenomenon of natural sex reversal. It initially develops into female, with small individuals and limited number of
eggs. Therefore, it is difficult to carry out large-scale artificial breeding. So far, the research mainly focuses on the regulation of
sex reversal, nutritional requirement, disease control, artificial reproduction and cultivation. However, few studies focuses on
the characteristics of growth and development at larvae and juvenile stages. The aim of this study was to explore the growth
characteristics and allometric growth of M. albus in the early development stages. The growth and development characteristics,
1 to 30 days post hatching (dph), were described, including total length, body weight, snout length, eye diameter, head height,
head length, trunk length, tail length and body height. The results indicated that the yolk sac of the newly hatched larvae of M.
albus was large and completely disappeared at 10 dph. A pair of pectoral fins existed in the early development stage of M.
albus, became gradually smaller and disappeared completely at 9 dph. The increase of the total length showed S-curve, which
could be divided into three phases, and the growth rate had significant difference at each phase. The increase of body weight
could be divided into two phases, and the growth rate also had significant difference at each phase. The optimal length-weight
relationship of larvae and juveniles was y=0.006e 0.050x . The relationship between various functional organs and the full length
was analyzed by SPSS 27.0.1 and Origin 2022 software. The results showed the allometric growth of important functional
organs exists in larvae and juvenile stages of M. albus. There was no growth inflection point in snout length, eye diameter and
head length from the day hatched to 30 dph, and the allometric exponents were 0.844, 0.615 and 0.878, respectively. Head
height appeared growth inflection points at 10 dph, and the allometric exponents before and after it were 0.407 and 0.557,
respectively. Trunk length appeared growth inflection points at 19 dph, and the allometric exponents before and after it were
0.964 and 1.212, respectively. Tail length appeared growth inflection points at 24 dph, and the allometric exponents before and
after it were 1.046 and 1.156, respectively. Body height appeared two growth inflection points at 11 and 22 dph, and the allo-
metric exponents were −1.272, 1.412 and 0.709, respectively. The growth inflection points of various functional organs were
different, which was coincident with the characteristics of growth, food intake, movement, and so on. These results have
important guiding significance for the large-scale seed rearing and sustainable farming industry in M. albus.
Key words: Monopterus albus; early development; larvae and juvenile fish; allometric growth; growth inflection point

Corresponding author: FENG Ke. E-mail: fengke163@swu.edu.cn
Funding projects: National Natural Science Foundation of China (31802268); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities (SWU-KT23003); Chongqing Municipal Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergradu-
ates (S202410635072)

中国水产学会主办 sponsored by China Society of Fisheries https://www.china-fishery.cn
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