Diagnosed from its congeners in Baltic and Black Sea basins by the following characters: longitudinal epithelial crests on predorsal scales; scales on lateral line 39-42 + 2; scale rows around caudal peduncle 14-16, rarely 12; dorsal fin with 7½ branched rays; anal fin with 6½ branched rays; dorsal behind middle of body, predorsal length greater than postdorsal length; anus closer to pelvic origin than to anal origin; snout longer than or equal to postorbital distance (Ref. 59043).