Diagnosed from its congeners in Europe by the possession of the following characters: origin of anal fin below or behind base of last dorsal ray; in adults, anal fin length about equal to caudal peduncle length; anal fin margin straight to convex; distance between tip of first and last branched anal rays 1.1-1.8 times depth of caudal peduncle (with fin stretched out); dorsal head profile almost horizontal above eye, then abruptly descending towards tip of snout; patches of breast scales separated by unscaled area or connected anteriorly by 1-2 rows of scales; lateral line usually reaching almost to end of caudal peduncle; in preserved individuals, flank with a midlateral row of vertically elongated blotches whose depth is about 1/3-1/2 of body depth at same position; caudal peduncle depth 2.3-3.1 times in its length; interorbital width 33-43% HL; marked hump at nape in largest individuals (Ref. 59043).