| 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 | males alike females |
| Different colors | males alike females |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | none |
| Body shape lateral (shape guide) | short and / or deep |
| Cross section | compressed |
| 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 | superior |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
Upper profile of body suddenly bent before first dorsal fin. Head large, opercle with a spine. Lower jaw prominent. Scales about as long as high. Pelvic fins distally dark. Purplish-blue in color. |
| 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 | |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | no striking attributes |
| Fins number | 2 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | 8 - 8 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 10 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 2 - 2 |
| Soft-rays total | 8 - 9 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 16 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position thoracic | |
| Spines 1 | |
| Soft-rays 5 |