Light reddish/brown with a dense covering of dark or rusty-coloured spots on body, rather than bright spots of other Cephalopholis species (Rockcods). Rounded tail with a pale white margin, deep, stout body profile and a dark patch on upper region of gill cover. Indian ocean variation is more orange-red and has small white spots on head and often white blotches on body. Juveniles dark red-brown to almost black with a broad bluish white margin on tail fin. Length to 49cm.

• Max Size: 57 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 22.0-30.5°C
• Depth: 10-150m
• Habitat: Coral Reef

• Threats: Climate change/warming, Exploitation, Habitat degradation
• IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
• Occurrence: Infrequent (4% 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.