Eggs demersal, attached on vegetation, no record of parental care. Larvae pelagic, frequently found in plankton samples in tropical oceans. Monacanthid larvae develop a large single dorsal spine from early larval stage, becoming strongly armored with hooks in later stages. Leis and Rennis (1983) found three distinct types of monacanthid larvae, ranging from elongate to very deep bodied. Two types with small cluster of spinules on pre-opercle, third type with no such tuft. Larvae of cosmopolitan tropical species Stephanolepis hispidus first described by Hildebrand and Cable (1930). In larvae collected from the SW Atlantic, hooked first dorsal spine located over mid-brain. Small spines scattered over forebrain and ventral side of head prior to pelvis, which also bears some spines. Small cluster of spinules on posterior margin of pre-opercle. Some melanophores appear on dorsal side of gut, opercle, and pelvis (Stephanolepis hispidus).
Table Tetraodontiformes
22 geographic zones