Speckled sandperch

The speckled sandperch grows to a length of around 28 cm (11 in) and is about five times as long as the body is deep. The anterior (front) end of the body is cylindrical and the posterior end is somewhat flattened. The eyes are rather close together on the top of the head and the fish rests on the seabed, propping itself up with its widely separated pelvic fins. The dorsal fin has five spines and 21 or 22 soft rays, and the anal fin has a single spine and 17 or 18 soft rays. The dorsal surface of the fish is greenish dappled with dark brown, the flanks are pale grey and the underparts white. There is a lateral row of large white spots each with one or more small black spots in the middle. On the underparts there are further black spots, mostly edged with yellow. Females have brown spots on the head and males have diagonal yellowish-brown markings on the cheek. The dorsal fin has a black spot at the base of the spines and the caudal fin, which is rounded or has a short extension from the upper lobe, has a larger black spot. There are several rows of small black spots on the soft rays of the dorsal fin and one row on the anal fin.