Indo-West Pacific: widespread, from the Red Sea, Arabian (Persian) Gulf, and East Africa to the Ryukyus and Tonga.

Mouth is slightly protractile; lips thick and fleshy. The inner base of the pectoral fin is either with few scales or naked. Body olive-green above, becoming paler below; each scale on back sometimes with white center. The posterior margin of the opercle and sometimes the base of the pectoral fin is red. The pectoral fin is white, yellow or pinkish; the pelvic and anal fins are white to orange; the dorsal fin is white and orange mottled with a reddish margin; the caudal fin is mottled orange or reddish.

Inhabits sandy bottoms in coastal areas, deep lagoons and near coral reefs. Juveniles and small adults commonly in loose aggregations over seagrass beds, mangrove swamps and shallow sandy areas while adults are generally solitary in deeper waters. Feeds primarily on crustaceans and mollusks but echinoderms, polychaetes and fishes are also consumed in considerable quantities.