Body slender, depth 12.8-14.6 %SL; caudal peduncle slender, depth 9.8-12.0 %SL, 1.5-1.7 times in length; head short, lateral length 19.7-23.3 %SL; anterior nostril pierced on front side of a flap; processus dentiformis present; upper and lower lip fleshy, interrupted medially; lateral line complete; anus about 1-2 eye diameters in front of anal-fin origin; 8.5 branched dorsal-fin rays; 5.5 branched anal-fin rays; caudal fin emarginate, with 9+8 branched rays; axillary pelvic lobe present; body with 15-24 bars, as wide or thinner than interspaces, quite regularly set; posteriormost bars sometimes incomplete, appearing as elongate blotches; black bar at caudal-fin base usually complete, or split at about two-thirds of its height; dorsal fin with 2-4 black spots along base, sometimes fused (Ref. 36949).