Goldeye are a very bright silver fish with a gold coloration to the iris of their very large eye. They have sharp teeth on their tongue and jaws. The dorsal fin begins just behind the front edge of the anal fin and has 9 or 10 rays. Goldeye have a fleshy keel or pointed edge to their belly from between the pectoral fins all the way back to the anus. This keel does not have a row of scales folded over the edge like the shads and herrings forming a serrated saw like edge. Goldeye differ from the closely related mooneye by having a more elongate body, dorsal fin starting behind the front of the anal fin, longer keel on belly, and gold coloration to the iris of the eye. Also referred to as bony tongue, the goldeye belongs to the Hiodontidae (mooneyes) family. Adults are typically 15-17 inches long, but can reach 20 inches, and usually weight 1-2 pounds, but can reach 3 pounds.