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The growth, sex ratio with age, and age at sexual maturation were determined based on sectioned otoliths in 257 specimens of the blackspot tuskfish Choerodon schoenleinii collected in waters off Ryukyu Island. Opaque rings observed by reflected light in the sectioned otoliths were found to form once a year from January to July. The three growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were L ? = 68.1 (cm), k = 0.263, and t 0 = -0.023 (year). The age at which the sex ratio reached 50% by sexual transition was about 6.15 years, and the age at which 50% of females were sexually mature was approximately 2 years. The oldest specimen among the samples was 17 years old.

Molecular and otolith analyses were conducted for 173 settlement-stage larvae of emperor fishes (family Lethrinidae) collected by light traps at Ishigaki Island, southern Japan, in July and August (summer season), to (1) present diagnostic DNA markers for identification of lethrinid species and (2) compare the size and age at settlement of each species. PCR-RFLP and direct nucleotide sequencing analyses identified 8 species. Size (standard length, SL) at settlement differed significantly between species; Lethrinus ornatus (mean SL ± SD, 12.8 ± 1.5 mm), L. obsoletus (14.2 ± 0.8 mm) and L. harak (15.8 ± 1.6 mm) settled at a smaller size than L. atkinsoni (17.0 ± 1.3 mm), L. genivittatus (17.3 ± 1.0 mm), L. olivaceus (18.1 ± 0.6 mm), L. nebulosus (18.6 ± 4.2 mm), and L. sp.2 reported by Lo Galbo et al. (J Mol Evol 54:754-762, 2002) (21.7 ± 1.4 mm).Age at settlement tends to increase with settlement size; L. obsoletus (mean age ± SD, 25.6 ± 1.2 days), L. atkinsoni (26.1 ± 2.1 days) and L. ornatus (26.3 ± 2.9 days) were younger at settlement than L. nebulosus (28.4 ± 2.1 days), L. harak (29.2 ± 1.7 days), L. olivaceus (29.5 ± 1.0 days), L. genivittatus (30.5 ± 1.7 days) and L. sp.2 (31.0 ± 2.0 days). Although our study showed interspecific variation in body size and age at settlement among 8 lethrinid species, further seasonal replication is necessary to clarify the general patterns.

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