| Main Ref. | Whitehead, P.J.P., M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.), 1986 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | males alike females |
| Different colors | different colors during breeding season only |
| Remarks | Male has a reddish spawning coloration, while female is greyish (Ref. 35388). |
| Striking features | none |
| Body shape lateral | short and / or deep |
| Cross section | angular |
| Dorsal head profile | more or less straight |
| Type of eyes | more or less normal |
| Type of mouth/snout | more or less normal |
| Position of mouth | superior |
| Diagnosis |
First dorsal fin present but covered by thick layer of skin forming a characteristic high crest with embedded spines. Bony tubercles present, arranged in 3 widely separated rows of large flattened tubercles on each side of body. Gill openings large, extend- extending below level of upper pectoral fin ray. Pyloric present 36-79. Ventral sucking disc formed by the modified pelvic fin (Ref. 232). |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Scale rows below lateral line | 0 - 0 |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | absent |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total | 28 - 29 |
| Attributes | other |
| Fins number | 2 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | 5 - 9 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 11 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | more or less truncate |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 10 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 20 - 21 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes part of sucker-disc |
| Position | |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 0 - 0 |