| Main Ref. | Last, P.R. and J.D. Stevens, 1994 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | flattened |
| Dorsal head profile | more or less straight |
| Type of eyes | |
| Type of mouth/snout | |
| Position of mouth | sub-terminal/inferior |
| Type of scales | placoid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Head short and very broad. Body robust with inflatable stomach; with dark, mottled and blotched color pattern, and mostly with a dark median stripe on the belly. Labial furrows absent. Denticles large and widely spaced. |
| 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 | 78 - 85 |
| total | 129 - 138 |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total | |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes | heterocercal |
| Fins number | |
| Spines total | |
| Soft-rays total |
| Pectoral | Attributes very large , lobe-like |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |