Small fish with a large spine projecting back from the rear of the head. Juvenile dragonet have a drab grey-brown appearance, making them difficult to see in rockpools and on the shallow reefs where they live. Adults generally live in caves in deeper water and often have a bright red background colouration, which blends in with nearby coralline algae-encrusted rock.

• Max Size: 28 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 10.3-21.3°C
• Depth: 0-20 m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Common (21% 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: Solitary (1 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.