Dorsal fin XII-XIV, 18-21, notched between spinous and segmented-ray portions; anal fin II, 19-22; pectoral rays 12-15; pelvic fin I, 3. Vertebrae 11-12 + 26-28. Orbital cirrus simple filamentous; nasal cirri short and simple to palmate with 2-6 branches; nape with cirri. Lateral line, continuous anterodorsally below dorsal spines from 4th to 10th, disconnected posteroventrally up to below dorsal spine 7-8th to 12-13th. Mandibular pores 4-6 Lips margin entire. Occipital crest present only in males, and only 0.7 mm or lower. Meristic characters slightly vary geographically, increasing from north to south (Ref. 9962). Body depth at anal-fin origin 5.3-6.0 in SL. Male grey to dark brown with longitudinal rows of blue dashes. Female pale grey with dark horizontal dashes and vertical dark A/H-shaped bars; dorsal and caudal fins spotted (Ref. 90102).