The posterior margin of the upper jaw is concave above, rounded and extended below. Pectoral fins are short with the tip of appressed fins falling considerably short of a vertical line from the 2nd dorsal fin origin. The straight part of the lateral line typically has 14–29 scales and 24–40 scutes. The oral valve at the symphysis of the upper jaw is dusky or transparent. The coloration is metallic blue above and silvery below with a small black blotch on the margin of the opercle near the upper edge. The dorsal fin lobe may sometimes be dark distally, while other fins are mostly pale.