Distinguished from all other congeners in Turkey by a combination of the following characters: breast completely scaled, scales approximately extending to isthmus; head length 27.2-30.0 % SL; snout shorter than postorbital distance; upper profile of head convex behind the nostril level, markedly concave at the nostrils, with rounded tip; reaching posterior margin of eye in male, reaching at midpoint of eye in female; interorbital distance 1.4-1.6 times eye diameter; body depth 21.5-24.4 % SL; pectoral fins reaching to or 1 scale anterior to pelvic-fin origin in males, 2 or 3 scales anterior to pelvic-fin origin in female; 39-42 lateral line scales; 4-6 scales between anus and anal fin origin; 6-8 scales between posterior extremity of pelvic-fin bases; 8-9 midlateral blotches; 10-14 slightly marked blotches on dorsal; intense black pigments on flank and back scales (Ref. 89889).