Indian Ocean: endemic off Mauritius (Ref. 123745). Its distribution in eastern coast of Africa, from Gulf of Aden to Zanzibar, northern Madagascar, eastward to Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea (Ref. 189) is based on misidentifications for other species: Stolephorus mercurius (SE Asia), S. rex (Indo-West Pacific) and S. zephyrus (eastern coast of Africa to Madagascar) (Ref. 123745).