Dark brown with a white band behind the head and a red tail, on Indian Ocean reef in pairs and small groups.
To about 18 cm. A brown to black body with each scale pale-centred, giving a spotted look, a broad white bar behind the eye with a dark bar across the eye and a narrower white bar in front of it, and a bright red tail base followed by black and a diffuse pale tail tip.
The red tail base is diagnostic and no close look-alike was found in the Maldives.
One to twenty metres along reef edges and upper slopes, with adults in pairs or small groups and juveniles in estuarine areas. It is monogamous, both socially and obligately, which is unusually well documented for a butterflyfish. It feeds on coral polyps, so it is bleaching-sensitive.
It is in the aquarium trade but acclimates poorly.
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.