It has a dullish orange-brownish background colour with green markings which become more obvious as the fish matures.

The juvenile fish occur in small tidal pools and in exposed reef flats with algae covered rubble.

It is generally a solitary species which feeds largey on prey with hard shells such as crustaceans, molluscs and sea urchins.

[1] This species was formally described in 1831 as Julis cuvieri by the naturalist Edward Turner Bennett with the type locality given as Mauritius.

[5] The specific name honours the French naturalist Georges Cuvier (1790-1832), who described it under the name Julis aygula but which was determined by Bennett to be a separate species.