| Main Ref. | Bigorne, R., 1990 |
| Appearance refers to | |
| Bones in OsteoBase |
| Specialized organs | no special organs |
| Different appearance | males alike females |
| Different colors | males alike females |
| Remarks |
| Striking features | none |
| Body shape lateral | fusiform / normal |
| Cross section | compressed |
| Dorsal head profile | clearly concave |
| 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 |
Median depression on head. SL/Body Depth ratio = 3.7-3.8. Origin of dorsal fin in same level or slightly behind anal fin origin. Pectoral fins shorter than head and the extremities reach the origin of the pelvic fins. Small eyes with diameter 6.0-6.8 x head length. Affinities: close to M. ussheri, differentiated by the number of dorsal fins and the eyes which are smaller relative to the head length. M. mento also found in the area of repartition and distinguished by the number of dorsal and anal fins and the number of scales on the lateral line. |
| Ease of Identification |
| Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
| Scales on lateral line | 50 - 54 |
| Pored lateral line scales | |
| Scales in lateral series | |
| Scale rows above lateral line | |
| Scale rows below lateral line | |
| Scales around caudal peduncle | |
| Barbels | 0 |
| Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
| Gill rakers | |
| on lower limb | |
| on upper limb | |
| total | |
| Vertebrae | |
| preanal | |
| total |
| Attributes | no striking attributes |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Finlets No. | Dorsal |
| Ventral | |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 21 - 23 |
| Adipose fin | absent |
| Attributes | forked; more or less normal |
| Fins number | 1 |
| Spines total | 0 - 0 |
| Soft-rays total | 25 - 29 |
| Pectoral | Attributes more or less normal |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays | |
| Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
| Position abdominal before origin of D1 | |
| Spines | |
| Soft-rays |