This species of parrotfish is a very active and curious specimen that stands out for the beauty of its colouring.
Its size ranges from 30 cm in the smallest specimens to 70 cm in the largest, with the males generally having the largest wingspan. Its mandible is small, with strong, partially or completely fused teeth forming a pair of parrot's beak plates on each jaw. Its head is conical and its front is rounded. It has an oval body. Females are red, grey and yellow, and males are grey. Its scales are large, strong, yet soft to the touch. The tail is slightly rounded.
It lives in small schools, i.e. in groups or shoals of fish, on rocky bottoms and on seagrass beds. Found at depths of 50 to 100 m, it is always nibbling on rocks in search of small crustaceans and invertebrates. It reproduces in summer, so we can be sure that the period of greatest abundance of the old woman on the Canary coasts is from May to November.
It feeds on algae on rocks and their fixed animals, sebas and micro-invertebrates, especially crustaceans and small molluscs.
Many Canarian fishermen, especially on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, maintain the tradition of using a polished and filed goat horn as a pointer on their bamboo or fibre rod. With this accessory they obtain more strength in catching the "vieja", whose meat, often compared to that of shellfish, is delicate and one of the most appreciated in Canarian cuisine.