This species is distinguished by the following characters: triangular or squared tipped first dorsal fin (vs. never squared tipped in S. ugoi, S. cabofriensis); neurocranium with a narrow basal plate (vs. broad in S. cabofriensis); color pattern with saddles not delineated by light or dark spots (vs. delineated by light or dark spots in S. boa); saddles darker than background color and lacking sharp median projections (vs. saddles indistinct S. cabofriensis, S. boa, with sharp median projections in S. ugoi); spots large and small, sometimes sickle-shaped or lunate and with clear centers on the back and sides, arranged in approximate bilateral symmetry, and sometimes present in intersaddle regions (vs. spots spiracle-sized, randomly distributed, not sickle-shaped or lunate in S. cabofriensis); rounded and short snout, preoral length 4.5% TL (vs. 5% TL in S. ugoi, S. cabofriensis); short and depressed head, length 17.5-19.2% TL (vs. 19.7-20.8% in S. cabofriensis; 19.5-20.3% in S. ugoi); interdorsal space 1.2-2 times dorsal-caudal space (vs. 2 times in S. cabofriensis; 2.1-2.5 in S. ugoi); claspers with ventral terminal cartilage 2 slender and positioned above ventral terminal cartilage, length 1.8 times in ventral terminal cartilage (vs. 1.5 times in S. cabofriensis); ventral terminal cartilage without a prominent groove posteriorly or with shallow and poorly developed groove (vs. groove well developed in S. cabofriensis); small-sized, adult males at about 35.3 cm TL, adult females at about 41.5 cm TL (vs. 44.5 cm and 50.0 cm TL, respectively, in S. ugoi) (Ref. 107325).