Diagnosis: head length 33.9-36.5 %SL; snout length 37.3-41.3 % head length; lower jaw length 36.4-40.3 % head length; premaxillary pedicel length 27.1-30.1 % head length; outer oral dentition well-developed bicuspid; interorbital width 13.7-16.8 % head length; lower pharyngeal jaw 22.3-26.7 % head length; body depth 32.4-36.0 %SL (Ref. 55898).

Description: dorsal body profile slightly more strongly convex than ventral body profile; dorsal head profile slightly convex above eye, concave between eyes; dorsal profile of snout straight; snout long, pointed and angular; mouth small; maxilla extending for about half the distance between snout tip and vertical at anterior margin of eye; lower jaw large; mouth and lower jaw inclined at about 25-30° to horizontal; outer oral dentition bicuspid, even in the largest specimens, teeth short and flattened, close-set; 2-3 series of scales on cheek; lower pharyngeal jaw relatively long and slender; all pharyngeal teeth fine and slender, close-set; gill-rakers of lower limb of moderate size, pointed or sometimes branched (Ref. 55898).

Coloration: Preserved: Females and immature males: body pale brownish-beige; 7-8 vertical bars below dorsal fin, extending over entire body; dorsal fin grey with darker tips; grey oblique bands on soft dorsal; caudal fin with faint blotches; anal and ventral fins pale; larger males with darker snout, nape and vertical bars (Ref. 55898).