A tall black-and-white banded fish with two dorsal fins, usually in pairs under jetties and ledges. It grinds its teeth audibly, which is where the name comes from.
To about 25 cm, tall and thin, boldly banded in black and white, with two separate dorsal fins. It moves in pairs under jetties and ledges across temperate Australia and is one of the easier fish there to photograph.
It grinds its teeth audibly when caught, which is where the name comes from, and the dorsal spines carry venom. The sting is painful rather than dangerous and the risk is entirely in handling. It is a defensive fish; nothing about it requires a diver to keep away.
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.