Description: Body relatively thin, narrow and long with a large eye and a terminal, small mouth. Pectoral fins medium, reach to vent. Pelvic fins very short. Dorsal and anal-fin bases long, caudal peduncle short and relatively wide. Melanophores limited to the fin-ray membranes, typically occurring in five groups: at the front, mid, and rear dorsal fin and the front and rear anal fin. Each melanophore group covers from one to five fin spines or rays. Transitional recruits have a mid-dorsal fin ocellus, a white-edged black spot on the upper base of the central caudal-fin rays and a patchy pattern of melanophores along the body with a mid-body bar extending from the dorsal ocellus down onto the anterior anal-fin rays.
Diagnosis: The fin-ray count of D-IX,11 A-III,12 and Pect-13 indicates Halichoeres and is shared by most of the Caribbean species. Larval H. radiatus are identical to most other larval Halichoeres with five patches of median-fin melanophores and can only be identified by DNA sequencing.
