Diagnosed from its congeners in Balkan Peninsula by the following characters: upper lip projecting beyond lower jaw; mouth subinferior; distal margin of anal straight; distance between tips of first and last branched anal rays (with fin stretched out) less than depth of caudal peduncle; head length 26-27% SL; body depth 22-25% SL; eye diameter 1.4-1.7 times in interorbital distance 43-47 + 2-3 scales on lateral line; caudal peduncle length 18-21% SL; scales of dorsal half of flank with a black margin on posterior edge and no or very few pigment on scale pocket; dorsal fin usually with 8½ branched rays; and anal fin usually with 9½ branched rays (Ref. 59043).