This species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following set characters: presence of distinct concavity at level of orbit in dorsolateral profile of the head; tip of supraoccipital spine not reaching anterior nuchal plate element; short dorsal spine with smooth posterior margin; presence of an irregular pale band on sides of body between dorsal and adipose fins; anal fin with narrow brown band across middle 3rd of fin; narrow caudal-fin lobes with approximately straight posterior margins; snout length 36-40% HL; eye diameter 14-20% HL; head depth 17.6-20.0% SL; length of dorsal-fin spine 14.1-18.5% SL; length of pectoral-fin spine 15.1-17.7 %SL; dorsal-to-adipose distance 10.9-14.3% SL; body depth at anus 16.4-19.5% SL; length of adipose-fin base 18.9-24.1% SL; length of anal-fin base 18.8-22.6% SL; and caudal peduncle depth 9.1-10.9% SL (Ref. 121927).