Network of fine blue lines on the head, and yellow dorsal and anal fins. The species exhibits a considerable amount of colour variation, with the most colourful males occurring along the New South Wales coast and possessing a large orange patch on the side. Six strong spines are situated in front of the tail of males, but these are much reduced or absent on females and juveniles.

• Max Size: 60 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 11.6-24.0°C
• Depth: 1 - 50 m
• Habitat: Rocky Reef, Seagrass
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 19.3
  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

• Threats: By-catch, Exploitation
• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Common (34% 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.