This species is distinguished from all its congeners by the following characters: relatively narrow bilateral bony shields on dorsal and ventral series, these do not overlap or contact each other anywhere in both series (vs. adjacent shields contacting or overlapping along most or entire series; this trait also separates this species from most hoplomyzontine species except those of Hoplomyzon); with seven or eight serrations on the posterior margin of the pectoral spine (vs. 10-18); pectoral-fin spine only slightly larger than subsequent soft rays, there is a gradual transition between the spine and the rest of fin (vs. spine 25% longer or more than soft rays, leaving a large portion of protruding spine without corresponding fin web distally); differs from E. megistus by having a well-developed rictal barbel (vs. no barbel or reduced to bump); differs from E. intosus by the unbranched maxillary barbel (vs. with thread-like secondary barbels); no dentations along the anterior margin of the pectoral fin (vs. with dentations); with two pairs of stout and regularly-positioned mental barbels (vs. over 100 thread-like and uniformly distributed barbels); D i+4 (vs. i+7); A i+6 anal-fin rays (vs. viii+4); basipterygium entirely hidden in integument (vs. anterolateral arm of basipterygium exposed on the skin, forming rugose shield) (Ref. 124573).