Pempheris bexillon new species is described from the 129 mm SL holotype and 11 paratypes (119–141 mm SL) from the
Comoro Islands. Twelve other specimens have been examined from the Agaléga Islands, Mascarene Islands, and Bassas
da India (Madagascar). It is differentiated from other Pempheris by the following combination of characters: a yellow dorsal
fin with a black, distal margin along its full length, broadest on anterior rays (pupil-diameter width) and gradually narrowing
posteriorly, the last ray with only a black tip; large, deciduous cycloid scales on the flank; dark, oblong spot on the
pectoral-fin base; anal fin with a dark margin; segmented anal-fin rays 38–45 (usually >40); lateral-line scales 56–65; and
total gill rakers on the first arch 31–35; iris reddish-brown. Tables of standard meristic and color data for type material of
all nominal species of cycloid-scaled Pempheris in the Indo-Pacific are provided.
Key words: taxonomy, Comoro Islands, meristics, comparative type data, Pempheris nesogallica Cuvier