| Main Ref. | Lavoué, S., J.P. Sullivan and M.E. Arnegard, 2010 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | |
| Dorsal head profile | |
| Type of eyes | |
| Type of mouth/snout | |
| Position of mouth | |
| Type of scales | cycloid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Petrocephalus christyi is distinguished from all other Petrocephalus species in Central Africa by the following combination of characteristics: dorsal fin with 22-24 branched rays, anal fin with 25-29 branched rays, eye large (HL/ED=3,1-4,2), mouth small, 9-13 teeth in the upper jaw, 17-22 teeth in the lower jaw (Ref. 85331). Melanin pattern consisting of two characteristic black patches: (1) a distinct round mark below the anterior base (first to the fifth rays) of the dorsal fin; and (2) a somewhat diffuse crescent-like mark, centered at the base of the caudal fin and extending onto the fleshy dorsal and ventral lobes of this fin (Ref. 85331). |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 35 - 39 |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | |
| Scale rows below lateral line | |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | 12 - 12 |
| Barbels | |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | 24 - 24 |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | 28 - 29 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |