[2] The shape of the body is a highly laterally compressed, elongated oval with a steep dorsal profile on the head.

The small, protrusible mouth has thick lips and there are many flexible teeth with curved tips in each jaw.

The overall colour is dark greyish-brown marked with a dense pattern of small blue spots over the head and body.

In the central Pacific it is found in the Marshall, Caroline, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Johnston, Marquesas, Society and Line Islands.

While in the tropical eastern Pacific its range runs from Costa Rica south to Colombia,[1] including Clipperton Atoll, Cocos and Gorgona.