This species is distinguished by the following characters: D VI+I,10-11 (usually 11); A I,9-10 (usually 9); head and body are naked; body is relatively elongate (depth 35.1-39% SL) and compressed; head is slightly pointed in juveniles, becoming more rounded in adults; snout sometimes has a slight hump above upper lip; groove between isthmus and interopercle absent; slender caudal peduncle (depth 14.5-15.8% SL); caudal fin is relatively long (22.6-24.6% SL); colour of juveniles and subadults greenish or brownish green with up to 7 red bars with bluish interspaces on head and pectoral-fin base, 3 anteriormost bars also run across eye; nape and dorsal part of body with irregular red lines and small spots; lines and dots usually vanish in adults of more than 3 cm TL; body becomes uniformly brown or reddish brown, usually with remnants of the orbital and suborbital bars (Ref. 94082).