An elongated, snake-like fish, Myrichthys maculosus can grow to a length of 1 m (40 in), but a more common size is 50 cm (20 in).

This fish is cream or yellow, with large, brown or black, circular or oval spots.

Its range extends from East Africa and the Red Sea to French Polynesia and the Galápagos Islands, and from Japan to eastern Australia.

It inhabits lagoons, reef flats, seagrass beds and sandy plains, at depths down to about 260 m (850 ft).

It has a well-developed sense of smell which it uses to locate its prey, which include crustaceans, banded snake eels and other small fish, while they are buried in the sediment.