Body oval; eyes on right side; no ring of cirri on margin of eye-side front nostril; snout rounded; mouth small, arched, a little below snout, ends under lower eye; front margin of head with short tentacles; rear edge of preopercle covered with skin, visible as a superficial groove; gill openings wide, united before pelvic fins; without opening connecting gill chambers on both sides; dorsal origin ~ above eye; dorsal rays > 51; anal rays ~ > 38; no pectoral fin in 95% of fish; pelvic on eye side fused to anal; pectorals present or absent; lateral line from head to tail, straight, with perpendicular branches running across body; body covered with rough scales; opercular margin on blind side mostly with scales.
Eye-side dark brown, with faint, thin dark cross-bars and dark dots; dorsal and anal dark; tail yellow; rear ½ of blind-side dark grey-brown.
