The fish has a robust body and a large, broad, flattened head that is partly covered with skin and bony plates, lacking spines. There are electric organs under two triangular to square scaleless areas behind the eyes. The rear end of the rear nostril groove is usually closer to the rear end of the skin over the electric organs than to the eye. The Y-shaped process on the top of the nape is short and broad, and the eyes are small and located on top of the head. The front nostril is round and located before the eye, while the rear nostril is extended as a crescent-shaped groove behind the eye. Both nostrils have fringed margins. The mouth is large, vertical, and fringed. There is a blunt, skin-covered spine behind the upper corner of the operculum that is not very obvious. The fish has two close-together dorsal fins with III-IV sharp spines and I, 13-15 soft rays. The anal fin has 0 spines and 13-14 rays. The pectoral fins have 19-21 rays. The body is covered with scales, with about 80 scales in the midlateral series.The coloration is greyish-brown, with a large elongate black blotch on each side of the chin. The tip of the lower jaw, upper half of the head, and back have irregular white spots of variable size, with larger spots at the rear of the body. The spiny dorsal fin is black, and the soft dorsal fin has approximately four oblique dark bars.