Macropharyngodon pakoko Delrieu-Trottin, Williams & Planes 2014

This species is distinguished by the following characters: D IX,11; A III,11; pectoral rays 12 (plus upper rudimentary ray); 2-3 pores on anterior lateral-line scales;17 (15-17) gill rakers. Colour pattern of females: no black spot on chest at base of gill openings; widely-spaced spots on body, especially on head; small bright yellow spots in vertical row on caudal fin; pale pelvic fins with 3 cross-bands (reddish orange to yellow); along the base of anal fin are small reddish spots. Colour pattern of males: green head and body with scales having a dark purplish brown bar, those laterally and ventrally on body with bar preceded by a blue line; curved black humeral blotch outline with iridescent blue followed by a broad and irregular longitudinal band of a dark yellow-orange network superimposed over and adjacent to the bar pattern on scales; head with an anastomosing pattern of red bands edged with dark purple and iridescent blue; cheek with an inverted irregular 'U'-shaped band; upper base of pectoral fin with a small black spot; dorsal and anal fins reddish with blue-ringed green spots with black border and some spots are merging and forming vertical reticulations; caudal fin has reddish reticulations around greenish yellow spots with black borders, the distal margin has a broad red band followed by a black outline then whitish tips on ray; pelvic fin translucent or colored, outermost rays faintly reddish yellow with innermost rays translucent. Colour of juveniles: few irregular black blotches on body with irregular red bars on anal fin broadly joined distally with yellow; a small black spot instead of an ocellus posteriorly on the dorsal fin and no large back spots and ocellus on the anal fin (Ref. 97238).

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 11

Collected by hand nets and rotenone (Ref. 97238).