This species has the following characters: body depth 2.6-2.95 in SL; scaled lower jaw; absence of fleshy papillae on edge of orbit; upper edge of preopercle finely serrate while the lower edge is smooth; margin of subopercle serrate while interopercle has 0-4 serrae; in males the front of upper lip is not thickened nor pointed and the anterior soft part of the anal fin more prolonged, fourth anal soft ray longest; caudal fin deeply emarginate with filamentous lobes; pelvic fins long, very long in males; colour of females yellow dorsally, shading on body to lavender-pink, but scale centers yellow; head yellow with pink to magenta lines; fins are yellow, the dorsal and anterior anal fin with magenta margin; color of head of males similar to females but body orange with red scale centers, changing to violet posteriorly; dorsal and anal fins are mainly orange, abruptly pale yellow posteriorly; a large magenta-edged yellow spot at base of pectoral fins (Ref. 86689).