Distinguished from congeners in British Isles by the following characters: body coloration plain purplish-brown (silvery to goldish outside spawning season), belly creamy-pink to light orange in large individuals; eye large, about 3.7-4.0 times in HL; snout blunt; pectoral fin equal to or longer than head, sometimes almost reaching pelvic origin in large males; pectoral, pelvic and anal fins reddish; pelvic and anal fins with white anterior margin, very narrow in pectoral; maxilla reaching posterior margin of eye or beyond (Ref. 59043).