Numerous oblique black stripes across upper body, pale unmarked belly, yellow pectoral and ventral fins with bright red patch at base, rear fins yellow with black spots and yellow snout. Juveniles pale with five or more horizontal dark stripes along body. Generally seen sitting immobile beside coral bommies. Oblique lines and yellow pectoral fin distinguish it from P. lessonii (Striped Sweetlips), and lack of markings on underside distinguish it from P. vittatus (Oriental Sweetlips).

• Max Size: 72 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 23.5-30.5°C
• Depth: 1-35m
• Habitat: Coral Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 3.4
  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: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Infrequent (6% 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.