Skora’s Toadlike Plunderfish

Description: very short mental barbel (22.4-24.9% of HL) almost reaching nostril when bent backwards and mouth is closed;;shape of esca strongly flattened lobe (width 7.3-9.1 times smaller than length of barbel); 23-24 tubular 'sensory' scales in dorsal lateral line; supraorbital canal with 3 pores on each of both sides in front of coronal commissure, 1 pore behind it; infraorbital canal with 7 pores (4 lacrimale) on each side; pores pio2 and pio3 are larger than other; temporal canal with 6 pores; preoperculo-mandibular canal 9 pores on both sides (specimen ZIN no. 55231 with 8 on the right side); coronal commissure 1 pore; supratemporal commissure interrupted in the middle, with 1 pore on each side of head; each side of body with 3 enlarged superficial neuromasts, above the upper lip medially from first (nasal) pore of supraorbital canal; neuromasts of each side connected with one another through almost black folds and when viewed from above, as 2 dark spots with pronounced white heads of neuromasts inside are well seen on the top of snout. Colouration: top and sides of head with small and medium sized brown spots; upper portion of eyes, forepart of jaws, and on branchial siphon with small brown spots; bottom of head, gill membranes, distal edges of pelvic fins in the bottom, posterior edges of upper jaws, most part of bases of pectoral fins light grey, without spots; sides of body marbled with separate of partly merged brown spots or streaks, clustering backwards along the middle line of body; underside of pectoral fins without spots, skin is light grey; pectoral fin is darker in the anterior and middle parts, with weakly noticeable vertical stripes, tips of rays are lighter; belly and chest between pelvic fins dark grey; first dorsal fin with dark membrane and dark and light rays; second dorsal fin with dark, nearly black at base of rays (especially in anterior part), membranes, which get lighter distally; anal fin mostly light, membranes of its rays dark in proximal part; pelvic fin light from the top, with a dark spot in the middle; most of surface of caudal fin is covered with a large T shaped dark spot (nearly black in adult fishes), excluding light coloration of upper and lower rays as well as light marginal fringe that broadens downward (Ref. 93744).

Dorsal soft rays (total): 27; Analsoft rays: 17; Vertebrae: 37

A mesobenthal species. A female paratype (19.5 cm TL, 14.83 cm SL) with eggs (0.8-1.1 mm at its third stage of maturity) in the ovaries (Ref. 93744).