This species is distinguished by the following characters: external light organ is a short, narrow, naked fossa immediately anterior to anus, its anterior margin falling far short of line connecting inner pelvic-fin bases; underside of head is mostly scaled except for a narrow to moderately broad naked area above the upper lip, and anterior parts of mandibular rami; dorsal surfaces of snout fully scaled; snout long and sharply pointed, its length 62-81% postrostral length (PRL); dorsal profile of snout is slightly concave in lateral view; terminal scute moderately short, diamond-shaped, dorsoventrally flattened, its length 12-17% PRL; lateral nasal ridge completely supported by a nasal bone, moderately convex in dorsal view, giving spade-shaped appearance to snout; anus is slightly separated from anal-fin origin; premaxillary teeth small, conical, arranged in a short, uniformly wide band, none distinctly enlarged (outer series slightly larger); posterior margin of tooth band falling far short of lateral corner of the mouth; body scales are covered with short, reclined, keel-like spinules in widely divergent, coarsely saw-tooth ridges, and every spinule row is complete, extending to posterior scale margin, the spinules in each row greatly overlapping, increasing in height posteriorl, while buttresses are narrowly developed; occipital scales covered with short, erect, needle-like spinules in 4 or more widely divergent, comb-like rows; orbit diameter 45-52% PRL; suborbital width 18-23% PRL; internasal width 27-31% PRL; interorbital width 39-41% PRL; pectoral-fin length 57-69% PRL; pectoral-fin rays i16-i17; transverse scale rows below first dorsal-fin midbase 3.5-4.5. Colouration: body uniformly dark brown, no dark saddles or blotches; lips pale to dusky; oral cavity blackish; gular and branchiostegal membranes are heavily peppered with small melanophores; first dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins are uniformly blackish (Ref. 123356).