| Main Ref. | Andrade, M.C., R.O. Ota, D.A. Bastos and M. Jégu, 2016 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks | Males are distinguished from juveniles and females by having thin long filaments extending the branched dorsal-fin rays, an additional lobe formed by the projection of the middle anal-fin rays, and by the presence of stiff hooks laterally divergent on distalmost lepidotrichia of each anal-fin branched ray (scarcely developed and solely recorded in the largest specimen examined, 33.75 cm SL. Males show overall coloration somewhat darker than females. Juveniles and females have no dorsal-fin filaments or anal-fin hooks; possess anal fin with first 8-10 rays longer than posterior rays, forming a falcate anterior lobe (Ref. 114774). |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | short and / or deep |
| Cross section | compressed |
| Dorsal head profile | |
| Type of eyes | |
| Type of mouth/snout | |
| Position of mouth | |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
This species is distinguished from its congeners, except planquettei, zorroi, by having its anteriormost spine of prepelvic serra reaching only the middle of the abdomen between the verticals through pectoral and pelvic-fin origins (vs. reaching the vertical through pectoral-fin origin or almost so); differs from asterias, lobatus, planquettei, rhomboidalis, rubripinnis, ternetzi, zorroi by having fewer scale rows between lateral line and dorsal-fin origin 30-35 (vs. 36-61), and between lateral line and pelvic-fin origin 27-31 (vs. 32-63); from asterias, levis, tiete, torquatus, by having 18-22 branched dorsal-fin rays (vs. 24-27); from M. arnoldi by having a relatively elongate body, its body depth 53.0-64.5% of SL (vs. 69.0-76.9% of SL); from M. ternetzi by the presence of a pair of symphyseal teeth on dentary (vs. none); from M. schomburgkii by the absence of a vertical black stripe on middle portion of flank (vs. presence) (Ref. 114774). |
| 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 | |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes |
| Fins number | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total |
| Pectoral | Attributes |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes |
| Position | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |