Numerous skin flaps on the head and body - usually small, but some individuals have extreme 'growths'. May have large light patch across head behind eyes and/or light bands on the body. Restricted to temperate and subtropical eastern Australian mainland. Distribution overlaps with very similar species S. papillosa. The latter has a more pronounced network of darker scale edges on the body, and fewer (sometimes no) skin flaps on the body. S. jacksoniensis adults seen by divers are larger, bolder and exhibit less cryptic behaviour. Formerly known as S. cardinalis, which is now used for the species found at Tasman Sea islands and New Zealand.

• Max Size: 30 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 15.6-24.6°C
• Depth: 1-73m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef, Soft sediment

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Common (47% 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.