[4] They can quickly change colour as they move from swimming near the seabed into open water to feed when the striped pattern of the female fades to an plain grey rendering the fish difficult to discern.

[6] Pseudocoris heteroptera occurs over the outer crests of reefs, usually above substrates consisting of mixtures of sand, rubble and coral and which is periodically exposed to strong currents.

[6] The defensive behaviour of this species is to stay away from the substrate and remain some distance from the perceived threat and not to dive into shelter.

[1] Pseudocoris heteroptera was first formally described as Julis (Halichoeres) heteropterus in 1857 by the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878) with a type locality given as Ambon in the Moluccas.

[7] P. heteroptera was considered to have an Indo Pacific distribution, extending as far west as the eastern coasts of Africa but the males, or terminal phase individuals, in the western Indian Ocean are different in colouration and pattern to the terminal phase of their Pacific counterparts and these Indian Ocean populations have been split from P. heteroptera as Pseudocoris occidentalis.