The species of Cobitis is distinguished by the following set of characters:

D. III-7; A. III-5; V. I-6; P. I-6-7; C. IV-14-16-IV. Body: Moderately slender and compressed. Small head. Sharp snout. Location of the eyes are located on the upper and middle part of the head. Preorbital part of the head is equal to or longer than the postorbital part of the head. Small inferior mouth with three pairs of short barbels. Undeveloped mental lobes are undeveloped with three superficial longitudinal lobes short and bluntly rounded. Thick and curved suborbital spine, with a short processus medio-caudalis. Colouration: five longitudinal lines of dark speckles on dorsolateral sides of body. Head: sprinkled with many black dots, and a black stripe extended from insertion of rostral barbels through eye to occiput. A small oblique vertical jet blotch at the upper base of the caudal fin base and far smaller than eye diameter. Dorsal and caudal fins: 4-5 narrow rows of dark dots.