Also known as Painted Lizardfish, Bluntnose Lizardfish and Snakefish, Painted Grinner are long and slender with alternating narrow dark-edged pale blue and yellow stripes.  There is an oblique black spot at the upper end of the operculum.  The snout is very short and the mouth is oblique with numerous fine sharp teeth.  The eye is far forward.  There is a short-based first dorsal fin followed by a small adipose dorsal fin and the caudal fin is deeply forked.

They grow to 66cms in length.

Painted Grinner are considered average eating.  They are popular in the aquarium trade.

In Australia they are found from Fremantle Western Australia, around the tropical north to southern New South Wales, over sandy bottoms where they burrow themselves leaving only their eyes exposed.