Back dar k gr een, flanks and belly lighter .Mouth subterminal. Lips thin to moderate without a medianlobe on lower lip. Barbels moderately thick. Anteriorbarbels reach level of posterior eye margin and posteriorbarbels reach or pass preopercle. Dorsal fin closer tohead. Last unbranched dorsal ray strong and with denticles.Scales with a central focus and few anterior andposterior radii. A pelvic axillary scale present. Gill rakersshort, reaching adjacent one when appressed. Pharyngealteeth hooked at tip, fourth tooth of inner row largeand blunt and first three spatulated. Gut coiled anteriorly.Males with a longer dorsal fin base and unpaired fins anda shorter head. Nuptial tubercles and coloration absent.Enters deep sections of lower rivers with stony and gravelbottoms to spawn. Maximum age 13 years, total length75 cm and weight 5.35 kg. Favors temperatures of 20-23°C. Sexual maturity at 5 years. Two spawning runs,one in March and another in August-September. Spawnsin swift streams on pebbles or sand, during July and August.Young females usually enter sea immediately, butmales remain in freshwater for 3-5 years. Absolute fecundityup to 1,259,000 bright-yellow eggs with a diameterof 1.4 mm. Eggs attach to rocks. Food include crustaceans,insects and molluscs.