Being a long thin darter, it is devoid of scales with the exception of a few rows above and below the lateral line and sometimes the caudal peduncle.

Slightly transparent in life with a yellow color and iridescent operculum, the naked sand darter blends in with its habitat.

[3] Larvae of small fish are the primary source of food for naked sand darters.

[3] Naked sand darters prefer the sandy bottoms of clean, freshwater rivers and streams.

[2] The naked sand darter was first formally described in 1877 by the American ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1851–1931) with the type locality given as the Natalbany River, near Tickfaw, Louisiana.