The breeding male of this species, a member of the subgenus Doration. Is distinguished by: the following characters: spinous dorsal fin with blue-green marginal and submedial bands, red-orange medial band, basal band lacking bright orange pigment; soft dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins without distinct orange spots on rays; soft dorsal and anal fins with bluegreen in base of fin; face and lower head gray with blue or blue-green on operculum, preoperculum, suborbital bar, lips, and mid-gular region; quadrate lateral blue-green blotches with narrow continuous midlateral band of melanophores running through blotches; blue-green wedge on ventral half of caudal fin base but not developed dorsally. In addition, the frenum is absent; lateral line is incomplete, unpored scales modally, greater than 10 (14); cheek is usually naked; presence of palatine teeth; dorsal fin spines modally 11, soft rays modally 11; anal fin soft rays modally 9; pectoral fin rays modally 13-14; principal caudal fin rays modally 15; caudal peduncle scales modally 16; preoperculomandibular canal pores modally 9 (Ref. 92294).