Life stages differ greatly; males red with broad white bar behind pectoral fin followed by a slightly dark red bar, blue patch on rear of gill cover, white chin and yellow pectoral fin base; females white with red/yellow stripe narrowing from snout through eye along body; juveniles black with red eye and thin white stripe along side to tail base and another along middle of back at base of dorsal fin. Juveniles and small females set up cleaner stayions to pick parasites off larger fishes.

• Max Size: 40 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 16.9-23.7°C
• Depth: 1-45 m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 21.4
  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: Least Concern
• Occurrence: Widespread (53% 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: Many (26 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.