Jaw teeth incisiform, rigid, close-set, increasing with age; large, curved canine tooth on each side at posterior of lower jaw, and smaller canine on each side at posterior of upper jaw (similar dentition shared within genera); lower end of gill opening above level of pectoral-fin base (also a shared character within genera); small unbranched cirrus on each side of chin; with or without small supraorbital and nuchal cirri; body depth at anal-fin origin 4.5-7.0 SL; males with elongated second dorsal spine; unnotched dorsal fin; caudal fin interradial membranes slightly incised, notably in males; ground color variable with habitat, gray, brown, or green, with 6 large, uneven dark blotches on upper side and numerous white dots and dashes and, ventrally, dark dots. Anal soft rays rarely 18; pectoral soft rays typically 14; segmented caudal rays 1, unbranched (Ref. 54980).