[4] The specific name honours Captain Barber who caught the holotype among plankton on the voyage from Honolulu to Cape Horn in 1896-97.

The spines in the dorsal fin are more than half the depth of the body, separated by deeply notched membranes.

The pectoral fin is also whitish and marked with around eight indistinct irregular brown bands and brownish mottles on its rear half.

[2] Dendrochirus barberi is found in the eastern central Pacific where it is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll.

[1] It lives in waters of less than 50 m (160 ft) depth,[2] on coral or in rocky crevices,[6] in clear seaward reefs or in turbid lagoons.

[2] Dendrochirus berberi spends the day hiding in crevices and caves but appears to become benthopelagic during the night hours.