| Main Ref. | McKay, R.J., 1997 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | other (see diagnosis) |
| Body shape lateral | short and / or deep |
| Cross section | compressed |
| Dorsal head profile | clearly convex |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | more or less normal |
| Position of mouth | superior |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
One dark vertical band through eye which may disappear with an increase in size; 11 dorsal fin rays and 9 anal fin rays. Supraclavicle (shoulder-bone) developed into a prominent bony shield. |
| Ease of Identification | easy to distinguish from other species. |
| Lateral Lines | 1 Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 49 - 50 |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | 10 - 10 |
| Scale rows below lateral line | 20 - 22 |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | |
| Barbels | |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | 6 - 6 |
| on upper limb | 15 - 17 |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 8 - 8 |
| Soft-rays total | 11 - 11 |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes | more or less truncate |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 3 - 3 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 9 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 16 - 16 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position thoracic before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |