Distinguished from its congeners in possessing the following unique combination of characters: body plain brown, head dorsum plain brown; dorsal, caudal and anal fins red in life; absence of secondary rostrum; absence of postoral pouch; gill slit angular, subopercular groove present and continuous with pectoral-fin origin; snout broadly round when viewed dorsally; presence of sublacrymal groove; absence of scales on abdomen; 58-63 scales in lateral line; pelvic fin just reaching level of anal fin origin, adpressed dorsal fin not overlapping level of anal fin origin (Ref. 56228).