The eastern school whiting has a pale sandy colour on top with a silvery white below and an olive brown-pink head with blue and yellow tinges. A series of obliquely positioned rusty brown bars are positioned on the back and upper sides, with a longitudinal row of rusty brown blotches along the mid-lateral silver stripe. There is no dark spot at the base of the hyaline-yellow pectoral fin. The first, spinous dorsal fin is hyaline with a dusting of red spots, while the second dorsal fin is hyaline and each ray having a sprinkling of 4-5 red spots. The ventral and anal fins are also hyaline, with the anal fin having yellow to orange rays with white margins. The coloration is very similar to "S. bassensis" but differs in that the oblique bars are wider, more regular and without the appearance of effused dots or spots, as well as lacking the mid-lateral blotches.