This species is characterized by the following: presence of scales in the predorsal midline and on the cheek and opercle; no elongate dorsal spines; a broad and somewhat concave interorbital region with a bony interorbital equal to about half or more of the width of the pupil with no raised, longitudinal, fleshy ridge in the midline; no postorbital trench; fifth pelvic fin ray usually unbranched (may be branched once sequentially); preserved specimens with a dusky body with densely scattered melanophores and chromatophores, the shade intensifying posteriorly to almost black in the peduncular region; body of alive or freshly collected specimens have yellow to dirty yellow-orange with scattered melanophores intensifying to a blackish or dark brown caudal peduncle, with median fins reddish-orange to yellow with a dark basal stripe, except for the caudal fin, which varies from almost translucent to yellow with whitish margins (Ref. 58123); characterized further by having longitudinal scale series 22-26; predorsal scales 7-8; depth of body about 4.4-4.6 in SL (Ref. 90102).