Body elongate, more or less cylindrical, slightly compressed, with a hard tail; sharply conical head; anterior nostril a downwardly facing tube near tip of snout, posterior nostril an inconspicuous slit in upper lip, guarded by a papilla; eyes very small, inconspicuous; mouth large, extending well behind eye; small, sharp, more or less uniserial teeth; gill opening a longitudinal slit beneath throat with an extra fold of skin alongside; dorsal fin origin over gill-opening; very poorly developed dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 4832).