Differs from other congeners by the following characters: broad oblique blackish bar extending from below eye to lower edge of preopercular margin; dorsal and anal fins almost always with 11 rays; pectoral fin always with 15 rays; jaw length sexually dimorphic; spines of first dorsal fin usually same height as second fin, spines with no filaments; species sexually dichromatic; lack of a short transverse row of sensory papillae in the lower part of the preopercular; scales in lateral series 48-52; breast scaled; important reddish longitudinal band on outer margin on first and second dorsal fins on males and females; second dorsal, caudal and anal fin length in male, preanal length in male, jaw length in female (Ref. 78217).