Basic colouration of light yellow-green to dark olive-green, however always with broad dark band (“moustache”) above the upper lip.
Size : 75 cm
Habitat : In bays, lagoons and outreefs, 3-40. Its food includes sea urchins, coral, crustaceans, mussels, shelled snails. Usually alone, the pair cares for the brood. Eggs are laid on sand or rubble ground in nest troughs and are aggressively guarded, also from divers. Feint attacks, but also strong ramming blows as well as bites with painful injuries have frequently been described.
Distribution : Red Sea and East Africa to S Japan, Micronesia and French Polynesia.