 The distinctive narrow dental plates, are fuse into a parrot-like beak and are covered in mumerous small teeth.>ref name = Fishbase/> When the its mouth is closed the upper jaw teeth are enclosed by the lower jaw.This species can attain a maximum total length of .The marbled parrotfish has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution from the northern Red Sea south along the eastern coast of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope and eastwards through the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean to Easter Island.