The fish has an elongate body with a strongly depressed head, featuring smooth bony ridges. The iris lappet is a simple elongated lobe, and there are 2 preopercular spines, with the upper slightly shorter than the lower. There are 7–10 (usually 8 or 9) total gill rakers on the 1st gill arch, and lateral line scales have a single opening to the exterior. Vomerine teeth are arranged in one transverse patch, a characteristic of all Platycephalus species. The coloration is brownish or greyish above, whitish below, with small dark blotches on the back and head. The pectoral and pelvic fins have numerous brown blotches, and the caudal fin is centrally yellow with black stripes on the upper and lower margins.