A species of Xenisthmus with the following combination of characters: second dorsal-fin rays I,12; A I, 11; vertebrae 10 + 17; indented tongue; well-developed flap on anterior rim of posterior naris; 12 large, closely spaced spots on upper sides of body, each connecting dorsally to, or almost to, mid-line by short, brown to dark brown bar; predorsal area broadly scaled to just behind vertical through posterior edge of preopercle, with narrow median wedge of scales extending further forward almost to pore D (Ref. 59014).