Snout long and sharply pointed, its anterolateral margin almost completely supported by bone; head ridges strong and coarsely spined; the dorsal surfaces of the head completely scaled except for the nasal fossa, scales atop head with spinules set in divergent rows; the underside of the head naked except for small isolated scales above the angle of the mouth and below the end of the opercle ridge in some specimens; swarthy to brownish, ventrally darker on the belly, with no prominent markings; the mouth and gill cavities blackish; the first dorsal fin uniformly dusky (Ref. 1371).