This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: small- to medium-sized moray eel 221.0-510.1 mm TL; anus situated at about mid-body (pre-anus length 47.3-52.1% of TL); snout short, blunt (snout length 13.6-19.6% of HL); two branchial pores; both jaws with many conical and few molar-like teeth, without canines; peripheral series of intermaxillary teeth mostly uniserial, infrequently biserial; median series of intermaxillary teeth usually uniserial (rarely biserial or absent); vomerine teeth uniserial or biserial, sometimes absent; maxillary teeth and the middle teeth of the lower jaw have serrated edges; body brown, entirely covered with yellow vermiculate markings; oral cavity white; sensory pores on infraorbital and mandibular enclosed by rounded white blotches; white blotches on mandibular sometimes interconnected; anal-fin margin yellowish-white, sometimes indistinct; and predorsal vertebrae 4-7 (mode 5), preanal vertebrae 48-55 (53), and total vertebrae 123-132 (130) (Ref. 138933).