| Main Ref. | Williams, J.T., 1988 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks | Male and female have same color pattern (Ref. 529). |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | oval |
| Dorsal head profile | |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | more or less normal |
| Position of mouth | terminal |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
Diagnosis: Dorsal fin XII-XIII, 14-16 (usually XII, 15), attached to caudal fin, with shallow notch above last spine, first spine equal or about twice higher than second, higher in males; anal fin II, 15-17 (usually 15); pectoral rays 15; pelvic fin I, 4; caudal fin procurrent rays 10-14. Vertebrae 9-11 (usually 10) + 19-20; last pleural rib on 11th vertebral centrum, last epipleural rib on 15-18th. Body depth at anal-fin origin 3.3-3.5 in SL. LL, without scales and scalelike flaps; LL tubes 0-8 (usually 1-5), incomplete, series ends below 12th dorsal spine to 10th dorsal ray. Lower lip smooth mesially, plicate laterally. Upper lip crenulae 29-43. Gill rakers 20-28. Cephalic sensory pore system simple. Cirri: supraorbital 3-12 (rarely up to 23 or 93; usually 6-9); nasal 6-25 (rarely up to 82; usually less than 15); nuchal 22-45 (usually 27-32), in 4 groups with slightly expanded nuchal flap at bases of ventralmost cirri. Over all brown with red small spots; iris red; pectoral fins yellow; rugosities of anal spine dirty yellow (Ref. 529, 90102). |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | 1 Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | |
| Scale rows below lateral line | |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | 20 - 28 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | 10 - 10 |
| total | 29 - 30 |
| Attributes | extending over most of the back length |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 12 - 13 |
| Soft-rays total | 14 - 16 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | more or less truncate; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 2 - 2 |
| Soft-rays total | 15 - 17 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 14 - 16 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position thoracic before origin of D1 | |
| Spines 1 | |
| Soft-rays 4 - 4 |