This species can be diagnosed from all other trichomycterids (and, in the case of the former two characters, probably from all other catfishes) by three autapomorphic modifications: the pseudotympanus modified into a tympanic recess, visible as a deep, well-defined depression on the side of the head, and anteriorly connected via a superficial groove to the pterotic; absence of the laterosensory canal system on the body and head (except for the inner ear), reflected externally as a lack of sensory pores (except one modified pore incorporated into the tympanic recess and leading directly into the interior of the pterotic bone); and a supracleithrum not covering any portion of the lateral opening of the swimbladder capsule. It can be further distinguished from all its congeners by the following characters: absence of the anal fin (vs. presence); presence of one or two well-developed opercular odontodes (vs. absence); presence of anteroventral and dorsal processes of the opercle (vs. vestigial and absence, respectively). It further differs from both Typhlobelus macromycterus and T. guacamaya by having 4 branchiostegal rays (vs. 5 and 3, respectively); and from T. guacamaya and T. lundbergi by having some premaxillary teeth (vs. teeth absent) (Ref. 94274).