Terapon puta has an elongated and slightly compressed body.

The spiny portion is strongly arched and the membrane between the spines is slightly incised.

It has a terminal mouth in which the jaws extend back to line up with the posterior nostril.

[4] Terapon puta has an Indo-Pacific distribution from the Red Sea south to Zanzibar and through entire Indian Ocean to the Philippines and northern Australia[4] It was first recorded in the Mediterranean in the Bardawil Lagoon in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt in 1976 and in it 1977 it was recorded off Libya and off Alexandria in 1994.

They spawn in the summer[3] and the male guards the eggs and fans water over them to ensure a good supply of oxygen.