Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Africa to the Hawaiian and Society islands, north to Japan, south to New Zealand. Eastern Atlantic: Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and St. Helena.

Color variable, yellow, pink, red, brown, or black. a dark spot at base of posterior dorsal rays (a black phase with tips of pectoral rays white also occurs.

Inhabit intertidal zone to depths of at least 25 m on both lagoon and seaward reefs. May be taken anywhere from the surface to approximately 176 m in the Indo-Pacific area, average depth of known captures at 19 m. Those from Eastern Atlantic at deeper waters, between 44 and 293 m, average depth of 107 m. In life, its esca resembles a tiny stout-bodied shrimp.