Resumen
The age and growth of the slender lightfish Vinciguerria attenuata are investigated for the first time by the analysis of otolith microstructure. A total of 242 individuals (standard length range = 15.3?39.0 mm) are collected from the Strait of Messina (central Mediterranean Sea). The analysis of the length?weight relationship highlights a hyper-allometric growth for all specimens, while when males and females are analyzed separately, the results point out an isometric growth for males and hyper-allometric growth for females, although no statistical differences emerge comparing sex curves (p-value = 0.06). Microincrement readings are considered valid only for 214 sagittal otoliths. Microincrement counts range from 31 to 49 (average = 39.9) in the otolith central zone, 28 to 53 (average = 43.2) in the middle zone, and 15 to 332 (average = 136.1) in the external zone. Overall, total microincrements range between 75 and 418. Different growth models (von Bertalanffy, Gompertz and logistic models) are taken into account to select the best-fitting model in describing the growth patterns in V. attenuata. The logistic growth model is selected as the best-fitting model, and its parameters for all individuals are L8 = 38.597, k = 0.0104 and I = 122.4.