Fish Larvae of Pakistan Based on "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen" Cruises 1 and 2

A century back, descriptive aspects of LARVAL FISH development were exciting the biological sciences. Now, although developmental series have still not been made for most fish species, but the interest in larval fish study is continuing. The larval fish studies are considered to be very important in Fishery Science. The published literature on the taxonomical aspects of larval fishes of the Indian Ocean is scattered and insufficient. AHLSTROM (1968) was the first, who analyzed larval fish families from the zooplankton samples collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Later, such studies on larval fish species from the Arabian Sea were strengthened by NELLEN (1973) ALI-KHAN (1972, 1976, 1985b, 1989), ALI-KHAN and WAQAR (1985). The present study on the fish larvae is based on the zooplankton samples collected during the F. R. V. "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen cruises 1 and 2" (January 19th to February 9th, 1977) in Pakistani waters. This study provided important information with regard to the larval fish species, their abundance and distribution. It has also been attempting to describe taxonomically the individuals of various fish taxa found in the region of investigation.