This species is distinguished by having the following characters: with a frontal ridge that slopes variably (steeply, and with a ridge, to gradually, without a ridge) into the interorbital trench; postorbital trenches may be steep or shallow sided; posterior nasal opening adnate to eye; second spine of first dorsal fin occasionally elongate, third spine is not; eight or more elements in the second dorsal; fifth pelvic fin ray branched multiple times dichotomously, appearing bushy; 18 or more pectoral rays; scales on head; body color brown-red with five diffuse white vertical bars, between mid-peduncle to just anterior to origin of first dorsal; facial pattern with two white bars under orbit,

and one irregular white bar over vertical limb of the preopercle; a pair of thin fleshy lappets, half a pupil width apart, a quarter pupil width behind the frontal ridge, on either side of dorsal midline of the nape; epibranch of the first gill arch lacks gill rakers (Ref.57688).