Distinguished from congeners in central Europe by the following characters: pelvic fin not reaching anus; mouth subinferior, lower jaw included in upper jaw; snout blunt; 19-27 gill rakers; flank yellowish to silvery, sometimes with faint pale spots, belly sometimes reddish; fins brownish to reddish brown, without white margins; eye diameter 1.3-1.5 times in interorbital distance, 19-21% HL; and body depth at anal fin origin 15-16% SL (Ref. 59043).