This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: colour when alive: head and body are bright red, bright yellow ventrally, with prominent white spots on head (one spot or blotch over preopercular spine, two elongate spots behind middle of eye, and one spot behind upper part of eye at about 1 o’clock position), and body (in three rows, an uppermost row beginning below soft dorsal, tracking lateral line to caudal peduncle, a lowermost row extending from above anterior anal fin to caudal peduncle, and a middle row extending obliquely from above pectoral fin to anterior part of lowermost series of spots); pelvic fin and pelvic-pectoral membrane of males bright yellow with broad bluish or greenish grey to black submarginal band across distal third of fin (Ref. 114910).