Bathylagoides wesethi very low on the underside of the body. The colour is dark brown above with black spots and a black patch around the operculum, which extends halfway up the body. The flanks are silvery-grey and the fins lack pigment. The caudal peduncle is narrow, the caudal fin is short, and the lateral line, which is high on the body, extends into the tail fin. The maximum length to which this fish grows is about . The snubnose blacksmelt is found in deep water in the Pacific Ocean off the western coast of North America. Its range extends from 45°N to
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,