Halichoeres margaritaceus (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1839)

Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360 : 229

Halichoeres margaritaceus (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1839) —Weedy surge wrasse

Status at New Ireland. New record, based on a video of a specimen taken in Albatross Passage, southwestern Kavieng District, at 3–13 m depth, St. KR 53, in 2014 (identified by Barry C. Russell); a specimen observed at Nemto Island , New Hanover , 4–15 m depth, St. T 23, on 7 Nov. 2006, by Gerald R. Allen.

Distribution and habitat. New Ireland: 1, 2.—General distribution: Cocos-Keeling Islands and northwestern Australia east to Wake Atoll and Pitcairn Group, north to southern Japan, south to New South Wales ( Australia), Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec islands, Tonga and Gambier Islands. Found in shallow exposed reefs and reef flats, 0–3 m depth. Marine.