Table 2.
Meristic characters, their acronyms and a brief description of each character.
| Mersitic characters | Acronym | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pelvic fin rays | PelvFR | Number of unbranched and branched rays |
| Pectoral fin rays | PecFR | Number of unbranched and branched rays |
| Dorsal fin rays | DFR | Number of unbranched and branched rays; the posteriormost dorsal rays are often borne from a single pterygiophore (the bones on which the rays articulate), in such a case the two rays are acounted as 2 rays, rudimentary unbranched rays in front of the fin are counted |
| Anal fin rays | AFR | Number of unbranched and branched rays; the posteriormost anal rays are often borne from a single pterygiophore (the bones on which the rays articulate), in such a case the two rays are acounted as 2 rays, rudimentary unbranched rays in front of the fin are counted |
| Lateral line scales | LS | Scales bearing the lateral-line column canal from the head to the end of the hybpural plate of the caudal peduncle |
| Predorsal scales | PDS | Dorsal scales starting from the posterior end of the head to the anterior insertion of the dorsal fin |
| Transverse dorsal scales | TDS | "Number of scale rows between anterior insertion of the dorsal fin and the lateral line, not accounting for the lateral line scale and the scale on the dorsal midline (in front of the dorsal fin) " |
| Transverse anal scales | TAS | "Number of scale rows between anterior insertion of the anal fin and the lateral line, not accounting for the lateral line scale and the scale on the ventral midline (in front of the anal fin) " |
| Transverse pelvic scales | TPS | "Number of scale rows between anterior insertion of the pelvic fin and the lateral line, not accounting for the lateral line scale and the scale on the ventral midline (in front of the pelvic fin)" |
| Upper arch gill raker number | UGR | Number of gill rakers on first upper arch; all rakers including rudimentary developed rakers |
| Lower arch gill raker number | LGR | Number of gill rakers on first lower arch; all rakers including rudimentary developed rakers and the middle raker |
| Total gill raker number | total GR | Gill raker number of upper and lower arch combined |