This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: dorsal fins VIII + 9; pectoral fins 16; gill rakers 8-9 upper + 20-22 lower = 28-31 total; lateral-line scales 33; body moderately deep; measurements as % SL: body depth at anal-fin origin 25-28; maximum head depth 26; head depth through eye 22; suborbital depth 14; head length 34; snout length 13; postorbital length 14; upper-jaw length 15; barbel length 28-30; barbel width 1.6-1.7; caudal-peduncle length 21-22; second dorsal-fin base length 14; caudal-fin length 28-32; length of anal-fin base 9.8-9.9; anal-fin height 15-17; pelvic-fin length 20; pectoral-fin length 28; pectoral-fin width 5.5-5.9; first dorsal-fin height 24-25; first two or three long dorsal-fin spines protruding; second dorsal-fin height 17; caudal fin without bars; first dorsal fin with black tip, retained in preservative; preserved fish with silvery-whitish head, pale brown body ventrally and dark brown dorsally; fins except for first dorsal-fin tip pale brown, partly hyaline; and pale, long barbels (Ref. 138759).