The hardyhead silverside is a robust, broad headed, small fish[3] which is distinguished by having a very low and wide lateral process of premaxilla with the upper margin of the anterior bone of the lower jaw which bears the teeth is almost flat distally and has no distinct tubercle at its posterior end.

[5] Freshly caught specimens are overall silvery in colour, tending to greenish on the dorsal area but with a bright blue strip along the flank, dusky fins and a translucent appearance when seen live in the water.

[3] The hardyhead silverside has an Indo-Pacific distribution which extends from the eastern coasts of Africa east to Tonga, north as far as southern Japan, and south to northern Australia; it appears to be absent in the Andaman Sea and to be replaced by Atherinomorus insularum in Hawaii.

It is reported to be a largely nocturnal fish which forms schools numbering from several hundred individuals to aggregations which may be over 100m long and 20m wide.

Feeds on a wide variety of plankton and small benthic invertebrates with foraging taking place mostly during the night following the dispersal of the schools.

[11] The hardyhead silversides is sold fresh, or salted and dried in Asia[3] and is referred to a whitebait in some English speaking parts of the world where it occurs.