[2] Pomadasys macracanthus has a body which is oblong and laterally compressed, its depth being over one-third its standard length.

[4] The dorsal profile of the head is straight and the small mouth is positioned terminally.

[1] Pomadasys macracanthus primarily lives in the littoral zone of the coastal marine environment,[6] but has been known to enter estuaries.

[1] Their diet consists of mobile, benthic invertebrates such as cephalopods, gastropods, crustaceans and annelids.

[4] Pomadasys macracanthus was first formally described in 1864 as Pristipoma macracanthum by the German-born British zoologist Albert Günther (1830-1914) with the type locality given as Chiapas in Mexico.