purpureus, Scarus Forsskål [P. S.] in Niebuhr 1775:27, x [Descriptiones animalium (Forsskål); ref. 1351] Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea. No types known. Non type (Rüppell) material: SMF 12 (1). Authorship according to Fricke 2008:49 [ref. 30182]. Neotype designation by Fricke 1999:445 [ref. 24106] is invalid; see Fricke 2000:639 [ref. 24537]. •Valid as Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål 1775) -- (Dor 1984:209 [ref. 29757], Araga in Masuda et al. 1984:205 [ref. 6441], Randall & Edwards 1985:23 [ref. 17448], Randall 1986:705 [ref. 5706], Allen & Swainston 1988:120 [ref. 25477], Pequeño 1989:64 [ref. 14125], Paulin et al. 1989:207 [ref. 24556], Winterbottom et al. 1989:56 [ref. 13251], Randall et al. 1990:338 [ref. 15987], Kuiter 1993:288 [ref. 23929], Francis 1993:165 [ref. 25479], Randall & Mee 1994:306 [ref. 21641], Allen & Robertson 1994:207 [ref. 22193], Goren & Dor 1994:55 [ref. 25356], Allen 1995:76 [ref. 21960], Lee & Kim 1996:37 [ref. 25726], McCosker & Humann 1996:19 [ref. 41107], Allen 1997:194 [ref. 23977], Allen & Robertson 1997:829 [ref. 41086], Kuiter 1997:304 [ref. 25488], Randall et al. 1997:338 [ref. 25919], Myers 1999:202 [ref. 23965], Fricke 1999:444 [ref. 24106], Randall 1999:23 [ref. 25829], Allen 2000:91 [ref. 37268], Parenti & Randall 2000:46 [ref. 24943], Westneat in Randall & Lim 2000:630 [ref. 25122], Nakabo 2000:990 [ref. 25182], Randall & Earle 2000:17 [ref. 25806], Allen 2000:114 [ref. 25868], Victor et al. 2001:282 [ref. 25613], Hutchins 2001:269 [ref. 25841], Hutchins 2001:39 [ref. 25847], Baldwin & McCosker 2001:92 [ref. 25779], Westneat 2001:3403 [ref. 26277], Nakabo 2002:990 [ref. 26193], Choi et al. 2003:368, 638 [ref. 26218], Allen & Adrim 2003:51 [ref. 26830], Manilo & Bogorodsky 2003:S115 [ref. 27377], Bernardi et al. 2004:371 [ref. 27454], Lobel & Lobel 2004:74 [ref. 27576], Randall et al. 2004:23 [ref. 27624], Heemstra et al. 2004:3326 [ref. 27945], Heemstra & Heemstra 2004:354 [ref. 28072], Randall 2005:441 [ref. 28239], Mundy 2005:448 [ref. 28379], Allen et al. 2006:1415 [ref. 29095], Randall 2007:345 [ref. 30952], Fricke 2008:49 [ref. 30182], Béarez & Séret 2009:150 [ref. 36646], Fricke et al. 2009:89 [ref. 30213], McCosker & Rosenblatt 2010:193 [ref. 30957], Motomura et al. 2010:175 [ref. 31256], Kuiter 2010:189 [ref. 35285], Allen & Erdmann 2012:723 [ref. 31980], Fricke et al. 2013:267 [ref. 32706], Fricke et al. 2014:139 [ref. 33932], Delrieu-Trottin et al. 2015:7 [ref. 33988], Duffy & Ahyong 2015:117 [ref. 36167], Koeda et al. 2016:79 [ref. 35333], Koeda et al. 2016:14 [ref. 35354], Fricke et al. 2018:294 [ref. 35805], Golani & Fricke 2018:130 [ref. 36273], Arndt & Fricke 2019:20 [ref. 36883], Fricke et al. 2019:239 [ref. 36673], Hoschke et al. 2019:158 [ref. 36626], Zajonz et al. 2019:91 [ref. 36871], Grove et al. 2022:21 [ref. 41326], Randall & Victor 2022:260 [ref. 39916], Fricke et al. 2024:77 [ref. 41255]). Current status: Valid as Thalassoma purpureum (Forsskål 1775). Labridae. Distribution: Red Sea; Indo-Pacific: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), East Africa, Socotra (Yemen), Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar and Mascarenes (La Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues) east to Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.), Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) and Easter Island (Chile), north to southern Japan and Ogasawara Islands (Japan), south to Rottnest Island (Western Australia), northern New South Wales (Australia), Lord Howe Island (Australia), New Caledonia and Kermadec Islands; eastern Pacific: Clipperton Island (France), Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). Habitat: marine.