It has a light brown-bronze colouration on top of the head and back, and whitish below, the whole body has a metallic blue lustre; Head shield is strongly rugose and granulated; Dorsal and pectoral fins with very strong, thick, and coarsely granulated spine. The tip of dorsal spine produced into a long filament; adipose fin rather large. Tip of the dorsal fin is blackish in colour, its filament is black. Pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are dusky; caudal fin is paler; adipose fin either entirely black or bearing a large black blotch on upper half.