The preopercle rounded with the serrations at its corner slightly enlarged and the gill cover has a distinctly convex upper edge.

The upper body is whitish, with the white being broken up by large dark blotches which resemble diagonal bands.

[4] The camouflage grouper is found in lagoons and outer reefs in shallow water in areas which are rich in coral and is more numerous around islands, especially atolls.

[3] This is a predatory species which preys largely on crustaceans, especially portunid crabs, and fishes, occasionally on cephalopods and gastropods.

[1] The camouflage grouper was first formally described as Serranus polyphekadion in 1849 by the Dutch medical doctor, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878) with the type locality given as Jakarta.

[3] It is of high value to the trade in international live reef fish in southeast Asia, the western Pacific and in areas of the Indian Ocean.

There is an important commercial fishery in southern part of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.