This fish lacks barbels on its snout (rostral barbels) and may not have any barbels on its upper jaw (maxillary barbels), or they might be very small. Dorsal fin has 3 to 4 stiff rays that don’t branch out, followed by 8 rays that do branch out. Anal fin has 3 stiff rays and 5 branched rays. Lateral line can be complete, interrupted) or missing partway along the body. This line has 19 to 24 scales. A distinctive feature of this fish is its coloring. It typically has a spot on its shoulder (humeral spot), a black mark on the narrow part of its body just before the tail (caudal peduncle), and sometimes black patches, spots, or stripes along its body depending on the species.