Body with red and white stripes of different widths; head reddish above, silvery below; faint red band from eye to angle of preopercle; spinous dorsal white, with a submarginal zone of red (Ref. 4201). Five oblique scale rows on cheek; body moderately elongated, depth 2.9-3.5 in SL; head length (HL) 2.8-3.4 in SL; snout length 3.9-4.35 in HL; interorbital width 4.15-4.5 in HL; maxillary reaching to about below front of iris, upper jaw length 2.85-3.15 in HL; premaxillary groove reaching to about a vertical at the front edge of orbit; anterior end of nasal bone rounded; 1-2 spinules at medial margin of nasal bone; small nasal fossa without spinules on its edge (except a 16.3 cm specimen from the Society Islands with 1 spinule); upper edge of suborbital bone weakly serrated, spineless laterally; short preopercular spine 1/4-1/3 orbit diameter, 6.15-7.95 in HL; 3rd-5th dorsal spine longest 1.5-1.95 in HL; extremely long 3rd anal spine 1.0-1.2 in HL (Ref. 27370).