Shape of body is long and flat. It has a ridge along its upper jaw and many small teeth in several rows on both its upper and lower jaws. Dorsal fin is positioned very far back on its body. The dorsal fin starts above the fifth ray of the anal fin and the base of the anal fin is about two-thirds the length of the base of the dorsal fin. The tail (caudal) fin is round. Two or three of the rays of the anal fin are thick and elongated, forming a reproductive organ called a gonopodium. The top of the fish’s body is brownish or greenish, and its belly is pale yellow or silvery-white.