Adult colouration variable but usually light reddish-grey body, with a slightly humped shoulder, and a dark tail with a fine white outer margin; light coloured juvenile has black lateral stripe with white trim from snout through eye to tail base, and can easily be confused with a cardinalfish.

• Max Size: 65 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 22.1-31.5°C
• Depth: 1-80 m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Soft sediment
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 15.9
  Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Frequent (14% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Few (4 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.