Body an elongate oval, strongly compressed; forehead profile convex; mouth reaching under front of pupil, inside not red, lips thin; chin with 2 pores at front and 2 inside hole behind, plus a longitudinal groove; preopercle finely serrated; dorsal fin XII, 12-13, deeply notched; anal III, 7-8, second anal spine slender, not reaching tips of longest soft rays when depressed; pectorals very long, reaching origin of anal fin; no scales on soft dorsal and anal; 48-52 pored lateral line scales; 7 oblique rows of scales between lateral line and origin of dorsal fin.
Silvery with prominent blackish blotch behind upper edge of gill cover; fins yellowish.
Size: grows to at least 35 cm.
Habitat: on sand and mud bottoms. Generally captured by shrimp trawlers on soft bottoms.
