Venomous fangs make it inedible, and several harmless fish copy its appearance.
To about 11 cm, yellow at the front fading to white behind, with three or four black horizontal stripes that break into dashes towards the tail. It has enlarged grooved canine teeth in the lower jaw connected to venom glands — a defensive rather than a hunting weapon, delivered when a predator takes the blenny into its mouth and immediately spits it out.
Because it is reliably rejected, several unrelated fishes copy its markings, including juvenile bristletooth surgeonfish and other blennies. It swims freely in the open rather than staying in a hole, which is unusual for the family and is a consequence of the same protection. It feeds on small invertebrates and algae and occupies rubble, coral heads and jetty pilings, retreating tail-first into a small hole when finally pressed. Recorded from about 1 to 30 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.