 Given the circumglobal distribution of this species and the difficulty of identification a number of names have been assigned to populations around the world which have since been shown by morphological and molecular studies to be [[junior synonym]]s of "K. sectatrix".These include "Kyphosus pacificus" which was described in 2004 as distinct from "[[Kyphosus bigibbus]]" in the Pacific but the workers did not compare "K. pacificus" with any specimens from the Atlantic.Another synonym is "K. lutescens" from the Revillagigedo Islands which was named by [[David Starr Jordan]] and [[Charles Henry Gilbert]] in 1889 and based on yellow specimens taken there but this taxon is also probably a junior synonym of "K. sectatrix".