The fish has a fairly slender body with a depth slightly less than the head length. The mouth is large and strongly oblique, with the lower jaw projecting. Indistinct chin pores are present, and there are 1–2 pairs of moderate canine teeth in the upper jaw or both jaws. The lower limb of the first gill arch features 13–15 gill rakers. The swim bladder is carrot-shaped, with about 28 pairs of arborescent appendages along the sides. The anal fin has 2 spines and 7 soft rays, and the caudal fin is rhomboid, pointed in juveniles. In terms of coloration, scale centers are brown on the upper two-thirds of the body, forming narrow oblique bands. The spinous dorsal fin is edged in grey-black, while the anal and paired fins are yellowish. The caudal fin appears dusky, or black in juveniles.