The lesser African threadfin has a rather compress, moderately elongated body with has a depth which is around one thirds of the standard length.

This species is a dull silvery colour, with a brownish to green tint in the back fading to whitish on the breast and belly.

[4][1] The lesser African threadfin occurs over muddy bottoms in shallow coastal waters at depths between 10 and 70 metres (33 and 230 ft), and they are often observed in estuaries and lagoons.

The stomach contents of specimens taken from the open sea had almost no detritus while those taken in estuaries had 31% of their stomach contents made up of detritus In a study near Lagos in Nigeria it was found that 25% of the females present had developed from the juvenile stage, i.e. had not been males, while the remainder had passed through a hermaphroditic phase having been males.

[4] The lesser African threadfin is an important quarry species in the commercial trawl fishery of the eastern Atlantic, and it makes up between 10 and 20% of the total landings by weight.