| Main Ref. | Williams, J.T., 1988 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks | Female with pale grey polygonal spots; male with irregular bars and yellow tips on caudal fin and anterior dorsal spines (Ref. 529, 90102). |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral (shape guide) | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | oval |
| 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 | terminal |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
Diagnosis: Dorsal fin XII, 14, membrane attached to caudal fin, with deep notch above last spine, first spine almost same or slightly higher than second; anal fin II, 15; pectoral rays 15; pelvic fin I, 4; caudal fin procurrent rays 11-14. Vertebrae 10 + 20. LL, without scales and scalelike flaps; LL tubes 7-14, canal ends below posterior to 9th dorsal ray, usually on caudal-fin base. Lower lip smooth mesially, plicate laterally. Upper lip crenulae 36-50. Gill rakers 24-27. Cephalic sensory pore system complex. Cirri, nuchal 40-59, supraorbital 13-46, nasal 9-93; 4 groups of nuchal cirri, 2 groups on 1 side rarely connected by a low basal membrane, ventralmost group on each side borne on enlarged nuchal flap. Body depth at anal-fin origin 3.5-4.0 in SL. Morphometric and meristic characters does not vary geographically. Overall dark brown; female with pale grey polygonal spots; male with irregular bars and yellow tips on caudal fin and anterior dorsal spines; irregular pupil- sized spots on head; iris with yellow-ringed pupil (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 | 24 - 27 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | 10 - 10 |
| total | 30 - 30 |
| Attributes | extending over most of the back length |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 11 - 13 |
| Soft-rays total | 13 - 15 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | more or less truncate; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 2 - 2 |
| Soft-rays total | 14 - 16 |
| 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 3 - 4 |