Banded kokopu the dorsal and anal fins are positioned close to the tail fin, which is short and square. The caudal peduncle is short and deep, with thick fleshy flanges which join the tail fin. Adults are usually a dark, earthy brown or olive brown, with pale yellow vertical bands along the body. The belly is light coloured and unpatterned. Behind the operculum and above the pectoral fin is a silver or white mark, and sometimes a darker mark behind this. The bands either fade out top and bottom, or fork and crisscross the back of the fish. In small fish the
Blob sculpin flap that covers the gills), the branchiostegal membranes are fused to the isthmus (the fleshy projection separating the gill openings), and there are many small cirri (fleshy threads) scattered over the head and body. The operculum is poorly ossified and is covered by a gelatinous layer. Behind the head, the body tapers rapidly to the caudal peduncle and there is a gelatinous layer between the skin and the muscle. The dorsal fin has eight spines and nineteen to twenty soft rays, and the anal fin has no spines and twelve to fourteen soft rays. The pectoral fins are broad and