Body short, deep, and strongly compressed; lower branch of first gill arch with 29 to 34 gill rakers; dorsal fin with 8 spines followed by another spine and 20 to 23 soft rays (VIII+1,20-23); anterior lobes of second dorsal and anal fins very long in adults; anterior dorsal spines greatly prolonged in juveniles; body scaleless; lateral line scutes very weak and poorly differentiated; body golden or silvery with metallic blue highlights; juveniles yellowish, with indistinct, interrupted, dark, transverse bars (Ref. 55763).