The common holocentrid fish in the Marquesas Islands, previously regarded as an insular variant of the wideranging Myripristis berndti, is described as a new species, M. earlei, after discovering a typical M. berndti in the islands and also finding the species in the Phoenix Islands with M. berndti. No meristic or proportional measurement differences were found to separate the 2 species, and no mtDNA differences were detected. Myripristis earlei differs from M. berndti by lacking or having only a few small scales on the lower 1/2 of the pectoral- fin axil; the lower jaw of adults not as strongly projecting; the leading edges of the soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins not white; and the spinous portion of the dorsal fin red instead of being orange-yellow on the outer part as in M. berndti.