Diagnosis: Elops lacerta is characterized by 17-19 gill-rakers on lower limb of first gill arch and small scales, those in lateral line numbering 72 to 83 and ornamented with a small, unbranched, tubule (Ref. 2844, 81265, 81629).

Description: Spindle-shaped fish, oval in cross-section (Ref. 81265). Eyes large, partially covered by an adipose eyelid; mouth terminal, gape wide, the upper jaw extending distinctly beyond hind margin of eye; lower jaw slightly prominent, with a bony gular plate placed ventrally between its two branches (Ref. 81265). All fins spineless; a single dorsal fin positioned at about mid-length of body, its long base enclosed in a scaly sheath; pectoral fins set low on sides, pelvics abdominal; both paired fins with a scaly axillary process above their bases; caudal fin deeply forked (Ref. 81265).

Colouration: Silvery on the sides, dorsum and head greyish black in preserved and bluish green in live specimens (Ref. 2844, 81265, 81629). Preserved specimens with dorsal and caudal fins greyish, other fins whitish or transparent; in life all fins are tinted a pale yellow; extremity of dorsal fin, as well as superior and posterior border of caudal, more or less broadly edged with dark grey (Ref. 2844, 81265, 81629). The colour pattern of the leptocephalus larvae is characterized by a strong line of dark pigment along the ventral border of the body and flanks with scattered melanophores; but species level identification of these larvae, Elops lacerta or E. senegalensis, remains uncertain (Ref. 81629).