Deep, rounded body. First rays of posterior, dorsal and anal fin are long and pointed. Color: black vertical bands on a grayish white background. Bands may be vague or almost missing in large specimens. Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21-24; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 17 - 18. Very deep-bodied, compressed, disk-shaped fish with a very blunt snout. Irregular, bold, blackish, vertical bands that fade with age. Second dorsal and anal fins have high anterior lobes. Mouth small, the maxilla of adults ending beneath nostrils; no teeth on roof of mouth; scales ctenoid; head and fins scaled; opercle ends in an obtuse point