Greenish brown dorsally, paler on flanks, silvery below, the scales dark edged, forming dark longitudinal lines. Body oblong and compressed, its depth 1.9 to 2.1 times in SL. Head length 3.4 to 3.7 times in SL. Dorsal head profile evenly curved from snout to dorsal-fin origin. Mouth subterminal, the upper jaw not protrusible, projecting somewhat in front of lower jaw. Jaws with bands of slender, flattened, tricuspid teeth, the middle cusp slightly longer than lateral cusps. No teeth on vomer or palatines. Five pores on each side of lower jaw. Preopercle smooth except for a few weak, skin-covered serrae at the angle. Opercle ending in 2 blunt points. Branchiostegal membranes broadly joined to isthmus. First gill opening constricted. Hypobranchial connected to quadrate by skin (Ref 43039).