Body robust, long, cylindrical, cross-section almost circular with flattened to slightly concave dorsal surface. Head large, flat, naked on top. Right branchiostegal membrane usually overlaps left. Snout short, broad spatulate, dorsal surface between raised orbits and tip of snout slightly concave. Mouth large, horizontal, lower jaw extending slightly beyond upper, maxillary usually not reaching beyond middle of pupil or to suborbital bar. Teeth moderately large, those in front of upper jaw and several along each side of ramus a little enlarged; cheek and opercle fully scaled. Gill rakers are reduced to patches of sharp denticles. Cardioid scales between pelvic fins 0-5, intergrades 0-26; notched scales in a line between dorsal and anal fin origins 0-8, intergrades 1-22.
Pigmentation: Olivaceous to black above; belly pale amber to white, sometimes mottled wit dark; mid-dorsal band from nape to dorsal fin origin inconspicuous, rusty brown. Sides with 15-23 olive to black wavy vertical bars separated by paler extensions of what had been lateral band in young, pale area between adjacent bars wider than bars. Suborbital and preorbital black bars pronounced, suborbital straight and vertical, postorbital horizontal; lateral edges of jaws lightly pigmented. Pupil yellow to yellow green, iris gold. Dorsal fin darkly pigmented, leading edge of all fins black, remainder dusky to amber.
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