Indo-Pacific: widespread in the Indian Ocean, ranging from East Africa south to Natal, South Africa and east to Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Chagos Archipelago, and Maldives through the eastern Indian Ocean to French Polynesia and Pitcairn. Replaced by Scarus forsteni in most of the Pacific, with overlapping distributions in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia and Palau.

Males differ slightly in head pattern and differences most obvious in females with yellow or red anal fins.

Inhabits lagoon and seaward reefs, in areas with dense coral growth up to at least 30 m.