Revision of the Indo-Pacific Labrid Fishes of the Genus Pseudocheilinus, with Descriptions of Three New Species

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The Indo-Pacific labrid fish genus Pseudocheilinus Bleeker consists of 7 small species: the wide-ranging P. hexataenia (Bleeker), P. evanidus Jordan and Evermann, P. octotaenia Jenkins, and P. tetrataenia Schultz, and 3 new species: P. citrinus from the Pitcairn Islands to Rarotonga, distinct in having prolonged filaments on the first 2 dorsal spines, elongate body, and in being orange to yellow in life; P. dispilus from Réunion and Mauritius, similar to P. octotaenia in having 8 pink stripes on the body, but differing in its yellow ground color, by having 2 purple spots on the opercle of fresh specimens (not visible in life, but persisting in preservative as deep blue spots), and shorter anal spines; and P. ocellatus from the Pitcairn Islands and Johnston Island to the Coral Sea and Ryukyu Islands, distinct in being magenta in life with vertical white lines on the body and an ocellated black spot on the midside of the caudal peduncle. These coral-reef species are among the most secretive of labrid fishes. Like most labrids, they are protogynous hermaphrodites. They feed, in general, on small benthic animals, especially crustaceans, and demersal zooplankton.

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