Five species of
Asterorhombus
are currently recognized, A.
bleekeri
, A.
osculus
, A.
annulatus
, A.
intermedius
, and A.
fijiensis
. A new species,
Asterorhombus filifer
, is described from 19 specimens. It is easily separated from
A. bleekeri,
A. osculus, and
A. annulatus by its palmate gill-rakers and its detached and longer first dorsal-fin ray. It is distinguished from
A. fijiensis by less body depth, longer first dorsal-fin ray on the average, simpler membrane on this ray, narrower interorbital width, and both eyes usually with one tentacle (vs. 1-9 tentacles on upper eye only). Asterorhombus fijiensis and
A. filifer are the only species of the genus with males having a wider interorbital than females.
Asterorhombus filifer most closely resembles
A. intermedius, which differs in having a longer first dorsal ray, smooth edge on the membrane of this ray, usually more lateral-line scales, and males with greater interorbital width.
Asterorhombus filifer is the most wide-ranging species of the genus, extending from the western Indian Ocean to the Hawaiian and Society islands, and is the only species of
Asterorhombus occurring on the Pacific Plate.
