Well, as it so happens there were pickled juvenile specimens of all the "contenders" in our teaching lab, so I could do firsthand comparisons.
African Pompano and Permit: bodies too deep, even at juvenile stage.
Blue Runner: excessive musculature, caudal peduncle too narrow and elongate. The head's too long, and so are the pectorals.
Florida Pompano: it's like I took one of the critters in my aquarium and stuck it in the same jar as the pickled specimens. They're spitting images anatomically.
I double-checked with specimens collected from Galveston in 1968 and 1981, respectively. One of the 1968 critters was twice as big as the live ones I've got, and there's a distinct deepening of the body taking place. Still not as deep as Permit at even smaller sizes, but the African Pompano we've got is a close ringer.
Thanks for all your help guys!
African Pompano and Permit: bodies too deep, even at juvenile stage.
Blue Runner: excessive musculature, caudal peduncle too narrow and elongate. The head's too long, and so are the pectorals.
Florida Pompano: it's like I took one of the critters in my aquarium and stuck it in the same jar as the pickled specimens. They're spitting images anatomically.
I double-checked with specimens collected from Galveston in 1968 and 1981, respectively. One of the 1968 critters was twice as big as the live ones I've got, and there's a distinct deepening of the body taking place. Still not as deep as Permit at even smaller sizes, but the African Pompano we've got is a close ringer.
Thanks for all your help guys!