This species is distinguished by the following characters. body scales in an irregular basket-weave pattern; trunk moderate (about 20% of TL); dorsal-fin origin above the posterior half of pectoral fin; gape moderate, extending at most to posterior half of eye; teeth not compound, with intermaxillary teeth conical and acute, approximately 16-18 teeth in the tooth patch, vomerine teeth abutting the rear of intermaxillary patch with approximately 25 teeth irregularly biserial anteriorly and becoming uniserial posteriorly, both intermaxillary and vomerine teeth set in beds of papillose tissue, maxillary teeth arranged in bands of one to four (medially) to one irregular row, anterior teeth somewhat enlarged; dentary teeth arranged in bands with roughly three to five series of teeth, anterior ones (in two rows) the largest; lateral line extends to approximately 70-75% the length of body; cephalic lateralis pores: supraorbital pores (SO) 3, infraorbital pores (IO) 6 (including the adnasal pore just posterior to anterior nostril), preoperculomandibular pores (POM) 8-9, pores in mandibular region 7-8 and the eighth or ninth pore in a preopercular position; total vertebrae 131-134 (Ref. 132084).