| 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 | different morphology in juveniles and adults |
| Different colors | different colors in juveniles and adults |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | flatfish |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| 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 |
Second ray of dorsal fin very long, with a conspicuous dark, fringed broad membrane. First 3 or 4 dorsal fin rays generally blackish in adults but only the elongate second ray is dark in immature fishes. |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | 1 Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 49 - 56 |
| 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) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | extending over most of the back length |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 81 - 91 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | more or less truncate; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | 61 - 69 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes asymmetric in size/position |
| Position thoracic behind origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |