Diagnosis: medium sized, robust species with short head (16.4-22.8% SL) and snout (23.3-28.2% HL); dorsal fin origin just opposite to pelvic fin origin; caudal fin shallowly forked, lobes short (112.7-126.0% TL) and rounded; longest dorsal fin ray 92.9-1333.3% HL (Ref. 26644).

Description: body depth 5.2-6.5 times in standard length (SL); head short, 4.4-6.1 times in SL; snout short, 3.5-4.3 times in head length (HL), usually shorter than eye diameter, rarely longer, 0.7-1.2 times its length; eye diameter 3.4 times in HL; elongated folds on eauch side of mouth (Ref. 26644). Mouth terminal in juveniles, inferior in adults (Ref. 44637). Opercular organ present in males, weakly pigmented only, small pigment cells in circles around the rim of this organ, rim narrow with anterior and posterior parts nearly equidistant; postopercular organ weakly developed only, with about 26 weak oblique laminae; lateral line starting above end of opercular organ and following upper edge of postopercular organ, declining at some distance behind the postopercular organ, deepest point on level of posterior end of this organ; scales small and numerous, deeply embedded and very difficult to count (Ref. 26644).

Coloration: in life: body brownish to greyish, darker on back and whitish to yellowish on belly; back and flanks speckled with dark brownish spots which are small in front of the dorsal fin and pelvic fins but larger on posterior part of body, especially on caudal peduncle; these spots are larger along lateral line and start to merge halfway between pectoral and pelvic fins; spots become more and more pronounced on posterior part of body, having the size of the eye or larger behind the dorsal fin, and the interspace between spots becomes silvery to greyish; some specimens with a more prominent midlateral series of spots which may reach more anteriorly (up to the posterior end of pectoral fins or hinder margin of postopercular apparatus in males); fins light brownish to hyaline, without distinct markings (Ref. 26644). Alcohol preserved: ground color differences between back and belly less marked; series of dark spots more prominent and interspace between spots usually darker; fins greyish-brown (Ref. 26644).