conspicuous coloration: the body is a deep red-orange grading to rosy on the belly, with white spots covering the flanks. Both the median and paired fins are a bright vermilion. The large eyes stand out, as well, ringed with golden yellow. The body is covered in minute cycloid scales and its silvery, iridescent guanine coating is easily abraded. Opahs closely resemble in shape the unrelated butterfish (family Stromateidae). Both have falcated (curved) pectoral fins and forked, emarginated (notched) caudal fins. Aside from being significantly larger than butterfish, opahs have enlarged, falcated pelvic fins with about 14 to 17 rays, which distinguish them from superficially similar carangids—positioned thoracically; adult butterfish lack pelvic fins. The pectorals of opahs are also inserted (more or less) horizontally rather than vertically. The anterior portion of an opah's single dorsal fin (with about 50–55 rays) is greatly elongated, also in a falcated profile similar to the pelvic fins. The anal fin (around 34 to 41 rays) is about as high and as long as the shorter portion of the dorsal fin, and both fins have corresponding grooves into which they can be depressed. The snout is pointed and the mouth small, toothless, and terminal. The lateral line forms a high arch over the pectoral fins before sweeping down to the caudal peduncle. The larger species, Lampris guttatus, may reach a total length of and a weight of . The lesser-known Lampris immaculatus reaches a recorded total length of just . Endothermy The opah is the only fish known to exhibit whole body endothermy where all the internal organs are kept at a higher temperature than the surrounding water. This feature allows opahs to maintain an active lifestyle in the cold waters they inhabit. Unlike birds and mammals, the opah is not a homeotherm despite being an endotherm: while its body temperature is raised above the surrounding water temperature, it still varies with the external temperature and is not held constant. In addition to whole body endothermy, the opah also exhibits regional endothermy by raising the temperature of its brain and eyes above that of the rest of the body. Regional endothermy also arose by convergent evolution in tuna, lamnid sharks and billfishes where the swimming muscles and cranial organs are maintained at an elevated temperature compared to the surrounding water. The large muscles powering the pectoral fins generate most of the heat in the opah. In