Differences between Ammodytes sp. larvae and juveniles

Generally:

·    The stage observed immediately after hatching from an egg is known as larva. Many marine fish species, including Ammodytes spp., exhibit vulnerable morphologies that do not resemble the parent fish.

·    As it subsequently grows, the cartilage transforms into the bone from the head to the tail (called “ossification”).

·    In contrast, the fin rays are completed from the tail to the head in many fish, with the pectoral fins being complete at the end. When the numbers of fin rays in all fins are the same as those of the parent fish, the transformation is complete, and its name changes to that of a juvenile.

·    Many larvae are planktonic (floating inhabitants).

These are the distinctions between early larval, late larval, and juvenile stages.