Main Ref. | Herre, A.W.C.T., 1927 |
Appearance refers to | Male; Female |
Bones in OsteoBase |
Specialized organs | other |
Different appearance | always different morphology between mature adults |
Different colors | |
Remarks | Males with brood pouch; females with ovipositor (Ref. 205). |
Striking features | |
Body shape lateral | eel-like |
Cross section | compressed |
Dorsal head profile | clearly concave |
Type of eyes | more or less normal |
Type of mouth/snout | tube-like |
Position of mouth | terminal |
Type of scales | bony plates or armour |
Diagnosis |
Description: Body: trunk heptagonal; very long tail 4-sided; covered with finely-sculptured plates with fine ridges; knife-like keel on the belly made up of sculptured plates (Ref. 2930). Head conical posteriorly; large elongate snout very narrow with concave plates; operculum with prominent median longitudinal keel; nape with a median crest (Ref. 2930). Dorsal fin only at the first 6 rings of tail; dorsal fin with 23-30 rays; pectoral fin with 13-16 rays; pectoral and caudal fins small (Ref. 2930, 4281). Colouration: Preserved colour dusky greenish gray; underside of head whitish; ventral keel and caudal fin blackish (Ref. 2930). Brownish, often without distinctive markings; venter of trunk commonly dusky, shading to near black on median ridge; some with brownish bars; dorsal fin rays without distinct row of brown spots (Ref. 4281). |
Ease of Identification |
Lateral Lines | 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) | |
Gill rakers | |
on lower limb | |
on upper limb | |
total | |
Vertebrae | |
preanal | |
total |
Attributes | other |
Fins number | 1 |
Finlets No. | Dorsal |
Ventral | |
Spines total | 0 - 0 |
Soft-rays total | 22 - 30 |
Adipose fin | absent |
Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
Fins number | |
Spines total | |
Soft-rays total |
Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
Spines 0 | |
Soft-rays 13 - 16 | |
Pelvics | Attributes suppressed/absent |
Position absent | |
Spines | |
Soft-rays |