Embryos were staged according to
Haynes (1995) and observed on a
Leica MZFLIII dissecting microscope,
connected to a Zeiss Axiocam Hrc. Images
were acquired using Axiovision
software. Iridophores and xanthophores
and their precursors were
visualized using incident normal and
ultraviolet light (Odenthal et al.,
1996). Iridophores and their precursors
were detected irrespective of the
wavelength of the incident ultraviolet,
whereas green autofluorescence is
characteristic of xanthophore precursors.