SIZE: to 19 cm (7.5 in.)
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES: Wide black band on forebody. Black spot on pectoral fin base.
Blackbelt hogfish have a dark front half of the body and white to yellowish rear half of the body. Separating these two regions is a wide, oblique black band, or its “black belt.” A black spot at the base of the pectoral fin base is present.
In the juvenile phase, blackbelt hogfish are purple to nearly black with a double row of large black edged yellow spots.