Black spot on pectoral fin base, dark tips on dorsal fin spines, vertical blue streaks on scales and wavy blue lines on fins (less visible in individuals from Japan, which have darker fins and tail). Australian records west of Torres Strait are probably P. limosus, which has a smaller black spot at the base of the pectoral fin instead of the large, obvious black patch in this species.

• Max Size: 10 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 16.6-31.4°C
• Depth: 3-35m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef, Soft sediment
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 6.4
  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: Exploitation, Habitat degradation
• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Frequent (11% 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 (47 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.