| Main Ref. | Yamamoto, M.N. and A.W. Tagawa, 2000 |
| Appearance refers to | Male; Female |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | always different morphology between mature adults |
| Different colors | different colors during breeding season only |
| Remarks | Appearanc e of males vary greatly depending on activity and age. |
| Striking features | other (see Diagnosis) |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | |
| Dorsal head profile | |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | |
| Position of mouth | sub-terminal/inferior |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
Mature males characterized by an extended ray on the first dorsal fin which is very long and overlaps the second dorsal fin when folded; courting male can appear turquoise to nearly black, with two "racing" stripes along the length of the body; females and juveniles normally mottled brown to gray-green; both sexes turn black when disturbed (Ref. 44091). |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | 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 | |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | 2 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes |
| Fins number | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total |
| Pectoral | Attributes |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes |
| Position | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |