Panga

The panga has the area between the eyes and the flange on the preoperculum scaled. The lower jaw has 2 rows of molar-like teeth. The dorsal fin has 12 spines and 10 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. There is a scaly sheath at the base of the soft rayed parts of both the dorsal and anal fin but no scales on the soft rayed part of these fins. The compressed body is ovoid in shape with a depth that fits into its standard length 2.3 to 2.5 times. The dorsal profile of the head is smoothly convex and the eye is large with the rear edge of the preorbital bone having a wave-like shape and is not covered by the scales of the cheek. The overall colour of the body is red or pink, lighter in colour on the lower body, with 5 or 6 indistinct bluish, horizontal lines underneath the lateral line. This species has a maximum total length of 45 cm (18 in), although 27 cm (11 in) is more typical.

The panga is endemic to South Africa where it occurs in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean in False Bay in the Western Cape to Beira, Mozambique in the southwestern Indian Ocean. This species is found mostly on deep, low. topographically complex reefs and sometimes over areas of mud and sand as deep as 120 m (390 ft).

The panga has the genus name Pterogymnus which combines ptero, meaning "fin", and gymnus, meaning "naked", a reference to the lack of scales on the soft rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins, when compared to Cymatoceps. The specific name, laniarius, means "butcher" or "pertaining to butchers", an allusion Valenciennes did not explain.