Juveniles are usually mottled brown, but can also be bright green, similar to juveniles of other wrasses, like N. fucicola. A dark bar becomes more obvious in the middle of the body as they grow, and a white bar develops behind this and becomes prominent in males. One of the most common and frequently encountered wrasses in south-eastern Australia, particularly Tasmania.

• Max Size: 50 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 10.3-21.7°C
• Depth: 1 - 50 m
• Habitat: Rocky Reef, Seagrass
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 29.4
  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

• Threats: By-catch, Exploitation
• IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
• Occurrence: Widespread (78% 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: Several (8 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.