| Main Ref. | McDowall, R.M. and W. Fulton, 1978 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | circular |
| Dorsal head profile | more or less straight |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | other (see remarks) |
| Position of mouth | terminal |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
Anterior interorbital laterosensory pore well separated from the posterior nostril. Usually 2 pairs of pores below the lower jaw. Short gill rakers. |
| 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 | 12 - 15 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total | 40 - 43 |
| Attributes | |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 11 |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes | more or less truncate; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 7 - 8 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 11 - 14 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 5 - 5 |