白色の体が本種の著しい特徴(Fowler, 1936; Bauchot and Saldanha in Hureau and Monod ed., 1979)。本属魚類の分類は鰓条骨と舌弓の接合様式,脊椎骨数,尾鰭,背鰭,臀鰭鰭条数を中心に行なわれており,一般に種の査定は困難である。(上野・佐々木)
Distinctive characters:
Snout beak-like. Anus notably in front of mid-body, total length 3.9〜4.2 times of preanal length. Dorsal fin lower than anal fin. Dorsal fin originated over 11〜12th anal fin rays. Teeth on vomer long, saw-like, and close-set, about 65 in number. Lower branchiostegal rays not beyond forward hyoid arch. Body whitish; throat and abdomen black.
Distribution:
Northern Atlantic. Off Suriname.
Remarks:
The whitish body is distinctive for the species (Fowler, 1936; Bauchot and Saldanha in Hureau and Monod ed., 1979). The characters used to separate the species are the nature of branchiostegal rays on the hyoid arch, number of vertebrae, dorsal, anal, and caudal fin rays, so that the identification is generally difficult. (Uyeno and Sasaki)