Cobitis leptosoma differs from other species of the Cobitis by the combination of the following characters: mental lobes undeveloped, with bluntly rounded tips; round subdorsal scales, with a slightly large focal area, and 19-25 radial grooves; males possess a long knifeshaped lamina circularis at the bases of the second pectoral-fin ray, and a sharp and nearly filamentous tip of the pectoral-fin ray; bicuspid suborbital spine, with a long processus latero-caudalis; four Gambetta pigment lines, L2 usually absent, L5 with 10-12 oval blotches; and a round or oblong spot smaller than or equal to the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle (Ref. 118058).