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Larvae of Cataetyx messieri (Bythitidae) are described from 14 individuals (12·3–27·9 mm body length) collected in deep fjords and channels of the inland sea of southern Chile (41–55° S), between 137 and 604 m depth. The larvae are elongate, with a large, flattened mouth and a coiled gut. They are lightly pigmented and show three distinctive features: a band of melanophores from the snout to the opercle, melanophores spread over the dorsolateral surface of the stomach and the intestine and a band of melanophores on both dorsal and ventral margins of the tip of the tail and adjacent finfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]