[1] The specific name aureus means “gold”, a reference to its golden yellow colour.

[3] The overall colour is yellow to orange with large, indistinct, dusky brown blotches along the back.

There is a pair of poorly defined brown spots just above the gill cover.

[3] Cirrhitichthys aureus is found in the Indo-Pacific region from India east to Japan and China, it has also been recorded in southern Indonesia.

[5] Cirrhitichthys aureus have been shown, at least in captivity, to be able to change sex in either direction.