Blunt head and relatively heavy body, fringe-like line of cirri on nape, and eye with gold iris surrounded by red. Males with head and fore-body reddish-brown, covered in light dusky spots and blotches, rear three-quarters of body dark brown with red spots and lines. Females reddish brown with light dusky spots blotches and bars on head and body. Both with varying levels of red/orange on dorsal and tail fins. Like most Cirripectes species, sits motionless on reef until approached then rapidly darts for cover making identification difficult.

• Max Size: 13 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 20.2-29.9°C
• Depth: 0-20m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 15.5
  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: Common (24% 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 (2 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.