Differs from all other members of the genus Loricaria by the possession of the following unique characters: head surfaces with strongly developed crests and predorsal plates with

large thorn-like odontodes; oral papillae situated behind the premaxillary teeth consisting of approximately 20 papillae, all longer than premaxillary teeth, arranged in a dense cluster; plates on the median abdominal area consisting of small round to diamond-shaped plates varying in size and spacing, with pre-anal shield absent or with few small plates distributed along the center and around anterior margin of anus; and dorsal surface of the head consisting of solid dark brown extending from center of orbits to tip of snout with large irregular spots from center of orbits to middle of dorsal fin. Specimens taken from deep channels differ from those collected from shallower depths by having smaller eyes that are more recessed in the orbits and tending to be less boldly pigmented, with dark patterns on the hear, body and fins more diffuse or faded (Ref. 79031).