This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: flank and dorsum predominantly dark grey to black contrasting with bright yellow marks; presence of odontodes with a rounded extremity at least on the internal-most series of the interopercle in larger specimens, above about 60 mm SL; truncate to slightly bilobed jaw teeth, arranged in three rows; opercular odontodes (13-16); absence of a distinctive projection on the posterior portion of the medial margin of the autopalatine; longer barbels, the tip of the rictal barbel posteriorly reaching area posterior to the orbit; maxillary and rictal barbels reaching interopercular patch of odontodes; relatively deep dorsal fin, with the longest ray longer than the dorsal-fin base; pectoral fin subtriangular in dorsal view; pelvic fin truncate, its posterior extremity reaching a vertical at the anterior half of the dorsal-fin base; more procurrent caudal-fin rays (total of 20 or 21 dorsally and 13 or 14 ventrally); vertebrae (40 or 41); absence of an irregularly shaped golden longitudinal line on the medio-dorsal portion of the flank; and 14 vertebrae (Ref. 128385).