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An Extraordinarily Long Larval Duration of 4.5 Years from Hatching to Metamorphosis for Teleplanic Veligers of Fusitriton oregonensis

Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, 620 University Road, Friday Harbor, Washington 98250

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rrstrath{at}u.washington.edu

Veliger larvae of the NE Pacific snail Fusitriton oregonensis were reared in culture for 4.5 to 4.6 years from hatching to metamorphosis and through postlarval growth to reproduction. Larval shells grew in length from 0.20 to 3.9 mm. Late veligers grew slowly, but shell sizes increased even in the 4th and 5th years. Widths of larval shells at late stages equaled or exceeded those of the protoconchs of two juveniles from the field. Cultured larvae did not metamorphose until presented with subtidal rocks and associated biota. There was no indication of larval senescence: the first 2 years of postmetamorphic shell growth were slightly faster, and time from metamorphosis to first reproduction (3.3 years) was slightly less than for an individual that had developed to metamorphic competence in the plankton. A 4.5-year larval phase exceeds previous estimates for teleplanic larval durations and greatly exceeds estimates of the time for transport across oceans. This extraordinarily long larval period may exceed the usual duration in nature but shows that larval periods can be much longer than previously suspected without complete stasis in growth and with little if any loss of viability.