| Main Ref. | Whitehead, P.J.P., M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.), 1986 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | different morphology in juveniles and adults |
| Different colors | males alike females |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | striking type of mouth |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | circular |
| 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 | cycloid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Jaw teeth comparatively large and widely spaced. Vertebrae 75-84. Vomerine teeth present at lengths greater than 20 cam. Lower jaw a little longer than upper jaw. Juveniles with greatly elongated jaw, without black posterior dorsal fin lobe. |
| 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) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | 27 - 40 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | no striking attributes |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 16 - 20 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | more or less truncate |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | 19 - 23 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 11 - 14 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |