A long silver-green jack to 1.2 m (4 ft), scattered with small golden spots that appear as the fish grows - a young one is plain, and the spots plus a few dark blotches along the flank arrive with size.
It hunts the bottom rather than the water column. Where most jacks chase schooling fish in open water, this one works sand and rubble with a small mouth, taking crustaceans, worms and small fish flushed out of the sediment, often nosing into the bottom to do it. Loose groups of a few animals fish the same patch together.
Because it feeds down rather than out, it is often seen alongside goatfish and rays, taking what their digging turns up - a following relationship rather than a partnership.
It is a strong game fish and a good food fish, and larger individuals in some regions carry ciguatera. As with the rest of the family, the fish landed on a boat has lost most of its color within minutes and looks nothing like the animal a diver watched.
- elongated silver-green body scattered with small golden spots in adults
- three or four dark blotches along the lateral line in larger fish
- small mouth for a jack, and a gently curved forehead
- length up to 1.2 m
