The snout profile is slightly concave. The preorbital bone is usually much greater than the eye diameter, especially in larger specimens. Vomerine teeth are in a crescentic band without a medial posterior extension. The tongue has a patch of granular teeth, and scale rows on the back rise obliquely above the lateral line extension. The anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays, with 18–21 gill rakers on the 1st gill arch. The coloration includes a grey-brown or olive back and upper sides, a whitish belly and underside of the head, and brownish dorsal and caudal fins, while the remaining fins are pink or reddish. Juveniles have a broad black horizontal band from the snout tip to the caudal fin base.