punctatus, Pseudochromis Kotthaus [A.] 1970:52, Fig. 225 [Meteor Forschungsergebnisse. Reihe D, Biologie No. 6; ref. 7753] Coast of Somalia, Indian Ocean, 6°06'N, 49°05'E to 6°03'N, 49°02.8'E, Meteor station 123, depth 55-65 meters. Holotype (unique): ZMH 5025 [ex IOES 113]. Type catalog: Wilkens & Dohse 1993:417 [ref. 21161]. Subjectively invalid; secondarily preoccupied in Pseudochromis by Assiculus punctatus Richardson 1846, replaced by Pseudochromis melanotus Lubbock 1975; but under Art. 59.4, punctatus is maintained. •Pseudochromis melanotus regarded as unnecessary -- (Gill & Randall 1994:17 [ref. 21600]). •Valid as Pseudochromis punctatus Kotthaus 1970 -- (Gill & Randall 1994:15 [ref. 21600], Randall 1995:143 [ref. 22896], Manilo & Bogorodsky 2003:S105 [ref. 27377], Gill 2004:162 [ref. 27767], Gill & Zajonz 2011:21 [ref. 31637], Zajonz et al. 2019:72 [ref. 36871] as cf. punctatus, Gill 2022:144 [ref. 39748]). Current status: Valid as Pseudochromis punctatus Kotthaus 1970. Pseudochromidae: Pseudochrominae. Distribution: Northwestern Indian Ocean: Gulf of Aden (Somalia) east to southern Oman. Habitat: marine.