see text The Microcanthinae, commonly known as footballers, mados, stripeys, and moonlighters, are a subfamily of the sea chubs, a family of marine ray-finned fish in the order Perciformes.

They have small ctenoid scales which reach onto the cheeks and upper part of gill covers, and form scaly sheaths at the bases of the dorsal and anal fins, with scales extending on to the soft-rayed parts of those fins.

They are normally yellowish or whitish in colour, marked with dark brown or blackish almost horizontal or oblique stripes.

[7] The species of the Microcanthinae are found off shallow coastal areas and in rocky estuaries, mainly over hard substrates.

They occur from the intertidal zone down to depths of 30 metres (98 ft); their diet comprises small invertebrates and algae.