Color is reddish pink to pale brown dorsally, becoming lighter ventrally; dorsal, anal, and caudal fins dark-edged.

Found on hard bottom, over exposed rocky reefs .

Feeds mainly on benthic crustaceans.

Sometimes netted or speared, to an untrained eye would be easily confused as a Red Cod.
There are two species, this one occurs more in Southern New Zealand.

NZ Marine Fishes: Paul
Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p.