[4] It has a relatively large head with a small, slightly oblique mouth and two pores on the tip of the chin which lie in front of a short indentation.

[6] Pomadasys stridens is indigenous to the western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea south along the eastern African coast to South Africa, east to the western coast of India, including the Persian Gulf, Lakshadweep archipelago and the Maldives; it is also found off Madagascar, the Seychelles and Mascarene islands.

[4][6] Recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean in 1969 in the Gulf of Genoa, it was later found in the Bardawil Lagoon in Egypt and extended north in Levantine waters with a known population off İskenderun, Turkey.

[7][8][9] Pomadasys stridens is found in waters over sandy and muddy substrates down to a depth of 55m,[3] but has been associated with reefs[4] and with rocky tidal pools.

[4] It is a carnivorous species and the crustaceans, molluscs, small fish and polychaete worms make up the majority of its diet.