This species is distinguished by the following characters. body no dcales; trunk relatively long

(about 21-29% of TL); dorsal-fin origin (DFO) above the posterior third of pectoral fin; gape of mouth moderate, extending to near rear margin of eye; teeth not compound; intermaxillary teeth conical with approximately 16-24 teeth in the tooth patch, inner teeth on the patch nearly twice as large as the outer teeth; vomerine teeth contiguous with intermaxillary teeth with approximately 25-30 teeth, irregularly biserial to triserial anteriorly and uniserial posteriorly; both the intermaxillary and vomerine teeth set in beds of papillose tissue; maxillary teeth small, set in irregular rows, 3 rows anteriorly to 6 rows posteriorly; dentary teeth similar to maxillary teeth except they are slightly larger and more uniform in size anteriorly; lateral line short, confined to the anterior half of body (ca. 35-45% of TL); cephalic lateralis pores with supraorbital (SO) 3, infraorbital (IO) 5 (including adnasal, AD), preoperculomandibular (POM) 6-10; total vertebrae 129-136 (Ref. 132084).