This species is distinguished from its congeners in the Adriatic basin by a combination of characters: head long, length, 29?32% SL, always markedly greater than body depth; snout pointed and conical; slightly subterminal mouth with clear projecting upper jaw; mouth cleft straight, oblique; lower-jaw length, 39?46% HL, exceeding caudal-peduncle depth; eye large, its diameter 19?25% HL; fifth infraorbital large and triangular; marked discontinuity between the dorsal profile of head and body; total lateral-line scales usually 44-47; branched anal-fin rays usually 9½; total vertebrae usually 44, vertebral formulae 24+20 and 25+19; body colouration strong silvery tint; scales easily lost; iris, pectoral, pelvic and anal-fin pigmentation with yellow shades; flank scales margined by a few black pigment dots along their free margin and intense black pigments on the scale pockets, forming black, vertically elongate spots (Ref. 84537).