This species is distinguished from its congeners, except C. armatus and C. microcephalus, by having perpendicularly directed serrations along the entire posterior margin of the pectoral spines (vs. serrations pointing towards pectoral spine origin, or directed towards pectoral-spine tip, or perpendicularly directed serrations, if present, bifid or restricted to proximal region of pectoral spine); differs from C. armatus by the absence of contact between infraorbital 2 and compound pterotic (vs. presence); differs from C. microcephalus by the presence of a longitudinal series of three large black blotches along midline of flank (vs. four or five midline blotches in C. microcephalus); differs from C. cohui, C. diphyes, C. flaveolus, C. froehlichi, C. gryphus, C. habrosus, C. lacrimostigmata, C. longipinnis, C. lymnades by having the anterior region of the dorsal fin black (vs. with black spots or bars); differs from C. carlae, C. garbei, C. difluviatilis by having hyaline or black pectoral fin (vs. with black spots or bars); differs from C. reynoldsi, C. tukano, C. weitzmani by the absence of a conspicuous coloration pattern in the region of the eye (vs. presence of a transversal black stripe across the eye); differs from C. gladysae, C. micracanthus, C. petracinii by having a dorsal spine that is relatively long, with adpressed distal tip slightly surpassing the base of the last branched dorsal-ray (vs. conspicuously short, with adpressed distal tip not reaching the base of the last branched dorsal-ray); differs from C. ehrhardti by having transversal black bars on caudal-fin lobes (vs. caudal-fin lobes hyaline or brownish); differs from C. steindachneri by having a fold in the middle portion of the lower lip (vs. absence) (Ref. 129023).