Indo-Pacific: East Africa, including the Mascarene Islands to Kiribati, north to southern Japan, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, and Samoa.

Bright blue, yellow and black in color.

Occur in clear, current-swept terraces of seaward reefs. Observed in loose aggregations 1 or 2 meters above the bottom; juveniles and subadults typical in groups near isolated Pocillopora eydouxi coral heads and when alarmed hide themselves tightly among the branches.