Adult dark with high body, rounded head, gold iris, gold and blue scribbles on head and breast, white flecks on fins and body scales, often with an orange/golden tinge to head and underside. Juvenile black with wide white stripe along side, second white stripe on belly, at least six large white patches on upper body, mottled head and distinctly low hanging pelvic fins. Golden iris, and often also lower head and breast, distinguish it from M. niger (Black-and-white Snapper).

• Max Size: 60 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 23.5-31.5°C
• Depth: 3-90m
• Habitat: Coral Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 7
  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 (15% 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 (3 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.