| Main Ref. | Bauchot, M.-L., 1987 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | always different morphology between mature adults |
| Different colors | males alike females |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | striking type of mouth |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | |
| 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 | ganoid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Body elongated, pentagonal section (Ref. 51442). Snout moderate with tip narrow and pointed (Ref. 3397), mouth inferior (Ref. 59043). Lower lip not continuous, interrupted at center (Ref. 3397). Four barbels halfway between snout tip and mouth but not reaching the latter (Ref. 3397, Ref. 51442). No scales, but 5 rows of scutes on the body: dorsal 9-16, lateral 24-39 on each side, ventral 9-14 on each side, with dense cross-lines of smaller rhombic plates between the dorsal and lateral rows (Ref. 2196, Ref. 3397, Ref. 40476, Ref. 51442). Dorsal side greenish-brown to blackish with golden tints, flanks light with silvery tints, belly white (Ref. 3397). |
| 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) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | 18 - 25 |
| 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 | 30 - 44 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | heterocercal; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 23 - 30 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 1 | |
| Soft-rays 36 - 40 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 26 - 30 |