Can be differentiated from its congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: lower lip lacking a median notch and having a posterior margin with lobulate projections, lunate caudal fin with elongate, strap-like lower principal ray in mature males, gill slit arched, nasal barbel reaching about half of the distance to the eye, presence of a pale elliptical patch on sides of body below adipose fin, male genital papilla located immediately behind the anus in a depression terminating posteriorly with a straight transverse wall, caudal peduncle 6.1-7.1 times longer than deep, length of caudal peduncle 18.7-21.7% SL, depth of caudal peduncle 2.7-3.6% SL, post-adipose distance 8.6-11.6% SL, snout length 57.9-61.2% HL, eye diameter 8.6-10.0% HL, interorbital distance 23.7-27.2% HL and maxillary barbel with rounded tip (Ref. 37793); lower caudal lobe with a long ribbon-like extension in male (Ref. 43281).