| Main Ref. | Nico, L.G., J.D. Williams and H.L. Jelks, 2005 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks | Nuptial males have breeding tubercles on head and dorsal fins. |
| Striking features | none |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | circular |
| 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 | terminal |
| Type of scales | cycloid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Anatomy of the pharyngeal apparatus is the main distinguishing characteristic; throat teeth typically form a single row of 4-5 large molariform teeth on each of the two arches, with formula typically 1,4 - 4,1. |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | 1 Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 39 - 46 |
| 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) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | 14 - 23 |
| 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 | 7 - 9 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 8 - 10 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 16 - 16 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal behind origin of D1 | |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 8 - 8 |