Distinguished from all congeners from southeastern and northeastern Brazil by having eight pectoral-fin rays. Differs from other species of the genus by having the following combination of characters: first pectoral-fin ray prolonged as a filament; pectoral-fin filament, about 20% of the pectoral-fin length; deeper metapterygoid, much deeper than wide; shorter maxillary barbel, reaching the middle of the opercular patch of odontodes; head width 71.2-79.4 % of head length; head depth 36.2-44.5 % of head length; caudal fin truncate; trapezoidal head; dorsal-fin base length 9.5-12.2 % SL; caudal peduncle depth 11.0-12.2 % SL; 36-42 interopercular odontodes; outer edge of the hypobranchial 1 about the same deep as the inner edge; and color pattern with transverse dark bars on dorsum (Ref. 94725).