 The bluegrey carpetshark has a stocky body with a wide, slightly flattened head, dorsally placed eyes, and a pair of long barbels with posterior skin flaps.It has large pectoral fins, two dorsal fins of unequal size placed far back on the body, and a sizable space between the anal fin and the base of the caudal fin.Growing to long, this species has a black-and-white color pattern as a juvenile, which largely fades with age such as that adults are brownish.