Head and body silver in color with blue streaks; body with blackish streaks and spots. Dorsal fins crimson in color and with 10-12 + about 400 soft rays. Pelvic fin represented by a prolonged, ribbon-like ray (Ref. 4171). Distinguished by the following features: dorsal fin rays until the end of the abdomen numbering 90 to 120; abdominal vertebrae count 45 to 56; in complete specimens: total vertebrae, 127 to 163 and total dorsal fin rays, 414 to 449; total gill rakers on first gill arch in large fish 33 to 47; dorsal fin in adults with 2 crests: first dorsal fin crest with 6 to 8 rays membranously joined and second dorsal fin crest with 5 to 11 elongated and ornamented rays with no fin membranes connecting them or other dorsal fin rays. Other characteristics: cristophore (new term) present and supports the first dorsal fin crest; pelvic fin with a single permanent, extremely elongate and ornamented ray; 11-14 pectoral-fin rays, with a horizontally-oriented base, allowing the fin to be vertically-oriented when adpressed against the body; all large fish lacking a caudal fin, but in the young, principal rays number 3-4 (usually 4), may be extremely elongate, and the tip rarely with ornament; lacking procurrent rays; highly elongate body, with no anal fin; total dorsal fin rays in complete specimens (significantly less in individuals of approx. max. TL of 1.5 m), 3 33 to 449 and total vertebrae 113 to 163; approx. max. length of largest specimens, 8 m (all autotomized); stomach characterized with an elongate postabdominal caecum extending to end of body; muscle masses compartmentalized by a complex system of connected intermuscular septa; with up to three dorsal horizontal septa and three ventral horizontal septa in addition to the horizontal, vertical, and transverse septa common to most teleosts; as a result of autotomy, the posterior part of the adult body (including most large juveniles) terminating in a healed-over stump or terminus (new term); still, many specimens found with fresh (with a ragged appearance very different from a healed termini) incomplete self-amputations of the posterior part of the body, notably not consistent with shark bites. Toothless jaws or with only some tine vestigial teeth (Ref. 92949).