Bright yellow with a striped face, venomous fin spines, and always in pairs.
To about 24 cm, bright yellow over the body and fins with a white head, a black wedge running from the snout through the eye to the nape and a black patch on the chest. A disturbed or sleeping fish drops the yellow to a mottled brown, which is a common cause of a diver reporting two species where there is one. The very similar Siganus unimaculatus carries a dark blotch on the flank; the two hybridise and intermediate fish occur.
Rabbitfish carry venomous spines in the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins, and the sting is painful. They graze algae over coral and rubble and are almost always in pairs, one usually keeping watch while the other feeds. The pair swims apart and rejoins, so photographing both in frame takes patience. Recorded from about 2 to 35 m.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.
