This large wrasse is commonly found on reefs, and grows to half a metre long. It is variable in colour and pattern, and sexually dimorphic. Females are usually a mottled reddish-brown and white, without the distinctive dark saddle of the female Bluethroat Wrasse (Notolabrus tetricus), while males are a more uniform grey-brown, brown or green, often with small yellow spots and/or a white bar along the midline. Aside from N. tetricus, juveniles of this species can be confused with Dotolabrus aurantiacus, but that species is usually smaller than even N. parilus juveniles, and has dark eyelash-like markings around its eye.
