| Main Ref. | Holleman, W. and S.V. Bogorodsky, 2012 |
| Appearance refers to | Male; Female |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | always different colors between mature adults |
| Remarks | Male first dorsal fin (sometimes more than twice) higher than second; equal in height in females. Male body with 4 irregular dark bars, chest and pelvic fins black, mouth corners red, spots below eye deep blue, caudal fin bicolored orange and green; females eye stripe brown below, pectoral-fin base also with brown stripe, caudal fin orange banded. Males more intensely pigmented (Ref. 57774, 88983). |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | elongated |
| Cross section | oval |
| Dorsal head profile | |
| Type of eyes | |
| Type of mouth/snout | |
| Position of mouth | |
| Type of scales | |
| Diagnosis |
This species is distinguished by the following characters: D III + XII-XIV (usually XIII) + 10-11; A I, 20-21; pectoral rays 13-14: 3-4 + 3-4 + 6-7 (usually 14:4+3+6). LL, pored scales 12, notched scales 25-28, starting at 2 scale rows below the end of the pored series; total lateral scales 29-30; transverse scales 2/4; nape and abdomen scaleless, dorsal and anal fin bases also without scales. Body depth 5.3-6.0 in SL. Head 3.6-3.9 in SL; eyes large, diameter 3.0-3.4 in head length; supraorbital/orbital cirrus small, lobate; supratemporal sensory canal U-shaped; dentary pores 2+2+2. Male first dorsal fin (sometimes more than twice) higher than second; equal in height in females. Key features are: first dorsal fin very tall; body translucent; first dorsal fin yellow; male chest and pelvic fins black, mouth corners red, eye spots deep blue below the eyes; females eye stripe brown below, pectoral-fin base also with brown stripe (Ref. 57774, 88983). |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 29 - 30 |
| Pored lateral line scales | 9 - 12 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal 0 - 0 |
| Ventral 0 - 0 | |
| Spines total | 15 - 17 |
| Soft-rays total | 10 - 11 |
| Adipose fin |
| Attributes |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 1 - 1 |
| Soft-rays total | 20 - 21 |
| Pectoral | Attributes |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays 13 - 14 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes |
| Position | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |