The caudal fin has a rear margin which is convex in juveniles of standard lengths less than 30 centimetres (12 in) and is straight or concave in adults.

Juveniles are dark brown and are marked with obvious white spots arranged in vertical rows on the rear part of the head and on the body.

The upper part of the base of the caudal fin has a deep black saddle-like mark that extends underneath the lateral line.

It is found around Bermuda and along the eastern coast of the United States from Virginia south into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

[4] Like most groupers this species is predatory and prey items recorded for adults include fishes, gastropods, cephalopods, and brachyuran crustaceans.

[6] The snowy grouper was first formally described as Serranus niveatus in 1828 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes (1794-1865) with the type locality given as Brazil.