ABSTRACT
The Senegalese sole is a valuable food fish and one of the best candidates for aquaculture development along Mediterranean Sea and South Atlantic Ocean coasts. Suboptimal rearing temperatures can critically affect the embryonic development in flatfish species, compromising their hatching and growth performance as it has been shown by G. Dionisio et al. in Senegalese sole. The morphogenesis of Senegalese sole from fertilization to embryo formation follows the same basic pattern described for other flatfishes and many other altricial marine species, with small temporal differences depending upon species and rearing temperature. Interestingly, researches have been performed on Senegalese sole fertilized-eggs and about effects of daily thermo-and photoperiod cycles of different light spectrum on embryogenesis, hatching rates, and larval development. The development of the Senegalese sole forebrain is interesting due to the coincidence of several features. The retinal layering is completed in central and peripheral regions, coinciding with the first exogenous feeding in Senegalese sole.
