Species: Stellifer chrysoleuca, Short-nose stardrum, Striped stardrum

Stellifer chrysoleuca (Günther, 1867)

Short-nose stardrum, Striped stardrum

Body oblong, robust, more or less compressed; head large, low and broad, skull cavernous, translucent, spongy to touch, wide between eyes; eye 4.5-5.2 in head length; snout blunt, projecting slightly beyond upper jaw; mouth inferior, slightly oblique; teeth in villiform bands, those in outer row of upper jaw enlarged; chin with 6 pores, no barbels; snout with 8 pores; margin of preopercle with 9-14 spiny serrations, strong spine at angle and those below it enlarged and usually directed downward; gill rakers long and slender, 21-26; dorsal rays IX-X + I, 20-23; deep notch between spiny and soft parts of dorsal fin; anal fin with short base II, 8-9, 2nd  spine strong, nearly as long as 1st ray; tail margin with blunt central point to rounded; scales rough on body and head, smooth on chin and fins; soft dorsal and anal fins covered with smooth scales; lateral line pores 48-51.