This species is characterized by the following: moderately extended snout and mouth; wide interorbital space; broad space between the first gill slits; tail length shorter than body length; almost completely prickly upper but smooth lower surfaces, no thorns on disc, but only a median row of 19 thorns along tail to D1; nearly confluent dorsal fins without thorn between them; > 30 upper tooth rows; 40-44 trunk vertebrae; dorsal edge of scapulocoracoid strongly sloping to metacondyle; high number of postventral foramina, markedly short and broadly drop-shaped anterior cranial fontanelle (Ref. 75588).