This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following unique set of characters: pectoral fin and distal portions of soft dorsal, caudal, and anal fins are pale yellow to yellow in life, pale in preservative; numerous dark spots on head and trunk, size of spots variable but those on head posterior to horizontal through center of orbit almost always smaller than pupil; interorbital region usually with 2 dark spots at posterior end, spots set slightly apart from orbital rim; belly with dark spots; caudal fin and sometimes soft dorsal and anal fins often with at least a few, sometimes tiny, dark spots; dorsal-fin spines 3 or 4 (almost always 4); total dorsal-fin elements modally 25; pectoral-fin rays modally 15; total caudal-fin rays modally 23; lower jaw extending anteriorly beyond upper jaw, mean difference between distance from tip of lower jaw to orbit and tip of upper jaw to orbit 5% head length (HL); relatively narrow caudal peduncle, average depth 11% SL (Ref. 89885).