This species is distinguished by the following characters: snout pointed extending beyond the jaws; with a stripe of black dots above the anal-fin base and a vertical black band on caudal-fin base; ventral surface of head and abdomen without melanophores; ventral portion of abdominal vertebrae with a pointed parapophysis and a blunt ventral post-zygapophysis; peritoneum, pyloric caeca, and intestine are pale; D 46-52 (usually 47-50); A 47-55 (usually 48-52); pectoral-fin rays 15-17 (usually 16); principal caudal-fin rays 12-14 (usually 13 with middle 11 branched); caudal vertebrae 35-39 (usually 36-37); total vertebrae 50-54 (usually 51-52) (Ref. 123140).