Differs from its congeners in Western Balkans and Adriatic drainages by having the following characters: scales on lateral line 46-54; a broad dark spot on scale pocket and a narrow series of pigments along free margin of each flank scale (indistinct in juveniles); head depth 68-80% HL in individuals over 9 cm SL; posterior margin of anal convex or almost straight; dorsal fin with 8½ branched rays; anal fin with 8-9½ branched rays; eye diameter 18-34% HL in individuals 9-15 cm SL, 16-18% in individuals over 25 cm SL; snout blunt, dorsal profile convex; lower jaw short, length less than depth of operculum; 5th infraorbital bone small or absent; mouth subterminal; and fins yellow to black in life (Ref. 59043).