This species is distinguished by the following characters: D VII + 9; pectoral fins 14; gill rakers 5-6 + 16-17 = 22; lateral-line scales 30; body moderately elongate. Colouration: total oblique bars.

on caudal fin 12, upper caudal-fin lobe with 5 brownish-red bars, the three most proximal bars curved, no bar on lobe tip; lower caudal-fin lobe with a conspicuous red stripe, 7 brownish-red bars ventrally (the distal-most bar close to lobe tip), 5 grey bars along dorsal margin and a black lobe tip; dorsal fins of fresh fish with four brownish-red stripes; barbels pale-rose whitish with pale-red origin; head and body colour of freshly deceased fish silvery ventrally and grey-brownish dorsally, with some reddish patches on gill cover and along ventral body side and a blackish saddle behind second dorsal fin; no mid-lateral body stripe; paired and anal fins palewhitish hyaline, anterior part of pelvic fins with weak palered pigmentation; in preserved fish head behind maxilla and body ventrally whitish silvery; in preserved fish head above maxilla and body dorsally from about eye level pale brown, with a weakly indicated dark grey saddle behind second dorsal fin, bars on caudal fins and stripes on dorsal fins partly retained as grey pigmentation patterns; barbels pale (Ref. 130857).

Measurements as % SL: body depth at first dorsal-fin origin 23; body depth at anal-fin origin 22; caudal-peduncle depth 11; caudal-peduncle width 3.9; maximum head depth 21; head depth through eye 16; head length 28; snout length 11; orbit length 6.7; upper-jaw length 11; barbel length 19; caudal-fin length 29; anal-fin height 17; pelvic-fin length 20; pectoral-fin length 21; pectoral-fin width 5.1; first dorsal-fin height 20; dorsal-fin spines proportionally decreas (Ref. 130857).