Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: off Genoa, Italy in the Mediterranean and from Côte d'Ivoire to Angola. Throughout the Indo-Pacific, but rare or absent in the Persian Gulf. Eastern Pacific: mouth of Gulf of California to Ecuador; including the Galapagos Islands.

Color dark olive green or blue above, white below; 2 narrow light blue bands on sides with a yellowish band between them; fins olive or yellowish. Upper jaw ending before the eye. Anal fin base is shorter than that of dorsal fin base. It has a 2-rayed finlet; 2 anal fin spines are detached. Dorsal and anal fins are relatively short; with small two-rayed pinnulae just behind the dorsal and anal fins. Lateral line without scutes.

Found in oceanic and coastal waters, generally near the surface over reefs or sometimes far from the coast. May form large schools. Feed on invertebrates (larger crustaceans of the zooplankton) and small fishes.