The Indo-Pacific salariin genus Cirripectes comprises the following 21 species (including 5 new species): C. alboapicalis (Australia to Easter Island; = C. patuki), C. auritus (western Indian Ocean to Line Islands), C. castaneus (Indian Ocean and Red Sea to western Pacific Ocean; = C. sebae), C. chelomatus (Coral Sea to Tonga Islands), C. filamentosus (western Indian Ocean to western Pacific Ocean), C. fuscoguttatus (Pacific Plate), C. gilberti new species (Indian Ocean), C. hutchinsi new species (western Australia), C. imitator (Batan to Japan and Ogasawara Islands), C. jenningsi (Gilbert Islands to Tuamotu Archipelago), C. kuwamurai (Japan), C. obscurus (Hawaiian Islands), C. perustus (western Indian Ocean to Gilbert Islands), C. polyzona (western Indian Ocean to Line Islands; frequently misidentified as C. sebae), C. quagga (western Indian Ocean to Pitcairn Group; = C. lineopunctatus), C. randalli new species (Mauritius and Cargados Carajos Shoals), C. springeri new species (Philippines to Solomon Islands), C. stigmaticus (western Indian Ocean to Samoa). C. vanderbilti (Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Island), C. variolosus (Pacific Plate), and C. viriosus new species (Batan Islands).
A hypothesis of the pylogenetic relationships among these 21 species is presented and discussed. Zoogeographical implications of this analysis are discussed.