The Browncheek Blenny has an elongated body. The front of their dorsal fin is orangish. The males are dark brown with numerous white spots and lines. The females are pale in color with red to orange blotches along the mid-flank, internal white dashes along the vertebral column, and an orange throat. Their head is short with a blunt snout that has strongly developed head spines and three longitudinal rows of spines on each side of the central grove between the eyes. They enter tail first in the various types of shelter in which they reside and are found with only their head exposed. They feed primarily on zooplankton, benthic invertebrates and small fishes.