REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF ROUGHNECK GRUNT, Pomadasys corvinaeformis STEINDACHNER (OSTEICHTHYES: HAEMULIDAE) FROM THE COASTAL WATERS OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Anairam Medeiros
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Oliveira, Mônica Rocha, Chellappa, Sathyabama
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biota Amazônia
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/biota/article/view/468

The fish popularly known as the roughneck grunts are small, abundant in coastal waters of northeastern Brazil and contribute to the coastal food chain. The present study was carried out with an objective to determine the reproductive biology Pomadasys corvinaeformis from the coastal waters of Ponta Negra, Rio Grande do Norte. The fishes were captured monthly during the period of one year. The fish samples were measured, weighed, dissected and the gonads were weighed and examined to identify the sex and the stage of maturation. The sex ratio, the size at first gonadal maturation, macroscopic and microscopic characterization of gonad development, gonadosomatic index, fecundity, type and period of spawning were determined. The results show that the females of P. corvinaeformis predominated in the population sampled in the coastal waters of Ponta Negra, RN. The males attained gonadal maturity at 10,3 cm and females at 10,4 cm of total length. The macroscopic characteristics of the ovaries and testicles revealed four stages of gonadal development, such as, immature, maturing, mature and spent. The microscopic analyses showed seven phases of gonadal maturation for the females: immature, initial maturing, final maturing, initial mature, intermediary mature, final mature and spent. For the males four phases of gonadal maturation were observed: immature, maturing, mature and spent. The average fecundity was 44.716 mature oocytes, varying from 15.056 to 83.316. The study species is a total spawner. Breeding of this species occurred during the period of December to June, coinciding with the rainy season of the region. Keywords: roughneck grunts, Pomadasys corvinaeformis, gonad development, reproductive period.