Postlarval stages of rattail fishes (family Macrouridae) were collected in the western Ross Sea in November 1989-January 1990 and November 1994-January 1995. All 23 specimens caught were identified as Macrourus whitsoni (Regan, 1913), one of the few macrourid species inhabiting the Southern Ocean south of the Polar Front. Body morphology and pigmentation patterns of some developmental stages of this species are described. Most captures were in the upper layer of the water column within 300 m depth and close to the seasonal thermocline. The stomach content of one individual constituted exclusively of several copepods.