Corydoras panda the entire fin area. The caudal peduncle is marked with a black band, this black band encircling the caudal peduncle from dorsal to ventral surface. The adipose fin, supported by a small fin spine, sometimes contains black pigmentation. The head is the same ground colour as the body, with a black mask surrounding the eyes, descending vertically from the fontanel, over each eye, and ending in a triangular wedge immediately before the ventral surface of the head. The pectoral fins are positioned immediately behind the operculum, and are usually oriented horizontally when the fish is at rest, extended in a
Whitefin dogfish is distinctive in being the only "Centroscyllium" species with abrupt black markings beneath its head, trunk, and pectoral fins, with a black stripe running from under the caudal peduncle to over the pelvic fins. These markings are in fact concentrations of tiny light-emitting photophores. Unusually, this shark also has photophores along the undersides of its upper eyelids. What function these structures could serve is unclear; Tchernavin speculated that they could be used to illuminate prey or stimulate the eye. The rest of the body is gray-brown, with white fin margins. There are numerous small cone-shaped, hooked prickles over the body,