A butterflyfish found in the northwestern Indian Ocean, from the central Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden and around Socotra.
The anterior part of its body is a bluish white crossed by a vertical black band running through the eye, while the rear of the body is pale grey marked with numerous fine vertical black lines. The tail fin is black with a white inner margin.
As its name "white-faced" suggests, its white face is its distinctive feature.
It grows to a maximum total length of about 13 cm. It usually swims in pairs over coral reefs at depths between 1 and 25 metres, feeding mainly on coral polyps and a variety of benthic invertebrates.
