[[Genus Pseudoplesiops ^ZBK ]]

Pseudoplesiops Bleeker ^ZBK is diagnosed by a single synapomorphy - medial laminae of the pelvic bones expanded dorsally - and the following combination of external characters: scales in lateral series 26-42; lower lip complete (uninterrupted at symphysis); and preopercular pores usually 7 (rarely 6 or 8), with a pore present at the upper terminus of the preopercle (Gill & Edwards, 1999).

The genus is mostly confined to the eastern Indian and Pacific Oceans, though two recently described species occur in the Maldive Islands, central Indian Ocean (Gill & Edwards, 2002).

As part of an ongoing revision of the genus, we herein describe a new species from the West Pacific in order to make its name available for a forthcoming guide to South Pacific fishes (Randall, in press).