| Main Ref. | Woodland, D.J., 1990 |
| Appearance refers to | Male; Female |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | |
| Different appearance | |
| Different colors | |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | |
| Body shape lateral | short and / or deep |
| Cross section | compressed |
| 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 | terminal |
| Type of scales | cycloid scales |
| Diagnosis |
Indian Ocean subspecies. S. s. laqueus greyish green with head and body covered with chocolate brown spots; in S. s. stellatus, background color is yellowish. Trailing edges of soft parts of dorsal and anal fins, perimeter of caudal fin and a saddle over the caudal peduncle are markedly paler than the rest. Silvery iris, tinted brown or green, with 10 equally spaced spots. Spines stout; pungent only in juveniles. Preopercular angle 92°-103°. Strong scales cover the cheeks. Usually midline of thorax fully scaled, but pelvic ridges sometimes without scales. |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | 1 Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | 20 - 28 |
| Scale rows below lateral line | |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | 16 - 20 |
| on upper limb | 3 - 5 |
| total | 19 - 25 |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | 10 - 10 |
| total | 13 - 13 |
| Attributes | extending over most of the back length |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 13 - 13 |
| Soft-rays total | 10 - 10 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 7 - 7 |
| Soft-rays total | 9 - 9 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines 0 | |
| Soft-rays 16 - 17 | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position thoracic behind origin of D1 | |
| Spines 2 | |
| Soft-rays 3 - 3 |