The serranid fish genus Liopropoma Gill (type species, Perca aberrans Poey from Cuba), of which Chorististium Gill, Pikea Steindachner, Ypsigramma Schultz, and Flagelloserranus Kotthaus are among the generic synonyms, is characterized by: a continuous or divided dorsal fin with VIII,11-14 rays (when fin divided, the seventh spine may be scaled over); anal rays III,8-11, pectoral rays 13-17; weakly ctenoid scales; a complete lateral line, highly arched over pectoral region, with 44-66 pored scales; a moderately elongate body (depth 2.8-4.15 in SL); a broad head, nearly flat across interorbital space; straight dorsal head profile; pointed snout; villiform teeth in bands in jaws (no canines); a ventral bony projection posteriorly on maxilla; 3 opercular spines, the middle much closer to lower than upper; and usually a finely serrate posterior preopercular margin.
It is represented by the following 18 species in the Indo-Pacific region: swalesi (Fowler and Bean) from Indonesia and New Britain; maculatum (Döderlein) from Japan, Korea, and Hawai'i; japonicum (Döderlein) from Japan and Korea; erythraeum, new name for Pikea rubre Yoshino and Araga, from the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and Society Islands; latifasciatum (Tanaka) from Japan; aurora (Jordan and Evermann) from the Hawaiian Islands; incomptum, n. sp. described from one specimen from New Guinea; aragai, n.sp., described from one specimen from Okinawa; lunulatum (Guichenot), wide-ranging in the Indo-Pacific (Glaucosoma semilunifera Steindachner and Anthias luteoroseus Liénard are synonyms); lemniscatum, n. sp. from Okinawa; susumi (Jordan and Seale), wide-ranging in the Indo-Pacific (Ypsigramma lineata Schultz and Y. brocki Schultz are synonyms); africanum (Smith) from the western Indian Ocean; collettei, n. sp. from New Guinea, Philippines, and the Hawaiian Islands; pallidum (Fowler) from Oceania; mitratum Lubbock and Randall, widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific; flavidum n. sp. described from a single specimen from the Austral Islands; tonstrinum, n. sp. from Micronesia, Fiji, and Samoa; and multilineatum, n. sp. from the Palau, Solomon, and Admiralty Islands and the Coral Sea.
Meristic data, structure of the dorsal fin, form of the margin of the preopercle, enlarged pores dorsally on the head, caudal-fin shape, and color are the most useful characters for distinguishing species.