| Main Ref. | Teugels, G.G., 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 | elongated |
| 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 | sub-terminal/inferior |
| Type of scales | scales embedded or partly/completely absent |
| Diagnosis |
Characterized by a relatively short vomerine tooth plates (3.6-3.9 % HL) and by its relatively long adipose fin (12.7-15.9 % SL) - the longest in Clarias and therefore, is a specific character for C. lamottei. Head is oval-shaped in dorsal outline. Frontal fontanelle long and narrow (`knife-shaped'); occipital fontanelle long and oval-shaped. Suprabranchial organ consists of well developed arborescent structures. |
| 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) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | 22 - 24 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total | 56 |
| Attributes | extending over most of the back length |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 |
| Ventral 0 | |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 53 - 58 |
| Adipose fin | present |
| Attributes | more or less truncate; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | 51 - 52 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 1 | |
| Soft-rays 10 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal behind origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 6 |