This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: body yellow, cylindrical with a large head (3.2-3.5 in SL); slender with body depth 4.5-6.3 in SL); much smaller eye

6.6-8.4 in HL; snout robust and long 2.0-2.6 in HL; mouth moderately protrusible; lower jaw smaller than upper one; teeth on upper jaw uniserial and that of lower jaw multiserial (2-3); predorsal scale rows 13-15; no scales on the preopercle and opercle; longitudinal scales series 55-58; gill rakers 2 + 1 + 6-7 on the first gill arch; cephalic sensory system interrupted with 8 pores, the first two of the oculoscapular pores at the posterior edge of the eye, the third near the preopercular edge, and the fourth and fifth are arranged together at the opercular edge (Ref. 130910).