It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, and is the only species in the genus Etelis found outside the Indo-Pacific region.

It has a flat intraorbital area, large eyes and a short snout with the lower jaw slightly protruding.

The caudal fin is deeply forked and its lobes lengthen as the fish grows.

[2] This species has a reddish deep pink back and upper flanks fading towards the abdomen.

[5] The queen snapper is found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.

It is also found at Bermuda and at Brazil's Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Islands.

[1] The queen snapper was first formally described in 1828 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes as Serranus oculatus with the type locality given as Martinique.