Ceratias Krøyer, 1845

Diagnosis. Ceratias differs from Cryptopsaras, the only other genus of the Ceratiidae, by having 9 caudal-fin rays, the ninth or ventral-most ray reduced to a small remnant (vs. 8 caudal-fin rays), and by the absence of a spine on the anterodorsal margin of the subopercle (Bertelsen, 1951; Pietsch, 1986, 2009). Metamorphosed females of Ceratias are further differentiated from those of Cryptopsaras by having a long illicium, 19.0– 28.2% SL (vs. illicium reduced to a small remnant, nearly fully enveloped by tissue of the esca), and by the number of club-shaped caruncles on the dorsal midline of the trunk just anterior to the origin of the soft dorsal fin (2 vs. 3) (Pietsch, 1986, 2009).