Annotated checklist of the species of the labroid fish families Labridae and Scaridae

An annotated checklist of the species of the fish families Labridae and Scaridae is presented; 541 valid species are recognized, including 68 genera and 453 species of labrids and 10 genera and 88 species of scarids. Thirty undescribed species of wrasses and two undescribed parrotfish species are also included. A list of nominal species is given, with their present assignments; nominal species of uncertain status are placed as incertae sedis and listed separately. A list of nomina nuda is also provided. The valid genera and species are listed alphabetically, with their synonyms and distributions. Examination of the original descriptions and type material (when extant) of previously unplaced nominal species of labroid fishes led to identification of 69 new synonyms. The generic names Artisia de Beaufort, 1939 and Emmeekia Jordan & Evermann, 1896 are here recognized as new synonyms of Halichoeres Rüppell, 1835. For the Labridae, 65 new synonyms of valid species are listed. Labrus psittaculus Richardson,1840, a valid species of Pseudolabrus, is a primary homonym of Labrus psittaculus Lacepède, 1801; the next available name for this species is Labrichthys rubicunda Macleay, 1881 and the new combination Pseudolabrus rubicundus is proposed. The following new combinations are included: Pseudojulis inornatus Gilbert, 1890 is a valid species of Pseudojuloides; Xyrichtys perlas Wellington et al., 1994 is a valid species of Novaculichthys. For Scaridae, Sparus abildgaardi Bloch, 1791 is a senior synonym of Sparisoma chrysopterum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), but a request of the International Commission has been made to reject abildgaardi in order to conserve S. chrysopterum; and Scarus visayanus Herre, 1933 is a new synonym of Scarus tricolor Bleeker,1847. Pseudoscarus microcheilos Bleeker, 1861 is a synonym of Chlorurus strongylocephalus (Bleeker, 1854