This species is distinguished from all congeners except agulha, clavatus, eschwartzae, herbertaxelrodi, klausanni, loretoensis, lucenorum, margitae, metae, mutabilis, peruvianus, vanzolinii, wadai by having a relatively broad diffuse midlateral stripe (vs. a narrow, well-defined midlateral stripe, or midlateral stripe absent); differs from all aforementioned species, except agulha, mutabilis, by having a distinctive caudal peduncle blotch (vs. absent); differs further from clavatus, loretoensis, metae, vanzolinii by having a humeral blotch (vs. absent), and from agulha, herbertaxelrodi, klausanni, lucenorum, margitae, mutabilis by having a lateral broad diffuse stripe only conspicuous after midbody (vs. stripe extended anteriorly to humeral blotch); differs further from agulha by having 5-7 (mode 7) pored lateral-line scales (vs. 10-35, mode 13), and from mutabilis by the conspicuous and irregularly-shaped humeral blotch with vertical and longitudinal components (vs. an inconspicuous and narrow humeral blotch with a single vertically-elongated component) (Ref. 125533).