| Main Ref. | Merrick, J.R. and G.E. Schmida, 1984 |
| Appearance refers to | Male; Female |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | males alike females |
| Different colors | different colors in juveniles and adults |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | none |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | circular |
| Dorsal head profile | more or less straight |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | more or less normal |
| Position of mouth | sub-terminal/inferior |
| Type of scales | scales embedded or partly/completely absent |
| Diagnosis |
Head large; thick and fleshy lips; nostrils tubular. First dorsal fin high, with a strong serrated spine and 6 rays. Skin tough and smooth. Body coloration in adults vary from olive-green to brown, black or purplish dorsally and white ventrally. Urogenital papilla triangular in females; longer and cylindrical in males. |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Scale rows below lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | 0 - 0 |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | continuous with caudal fin |
| Fins number | 2 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal behind origin of D1 | |
| Spines 1 | |
| Soft-rays 10 - 10 |