Rhinopias xenops was first formally described as Peloropsis xenops in 1905 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert with the type locality given as the Avau Channel, the channel separating the islands of Maui and Lanai in Hawaii.

However, in 1973 William N. Eschmeyer, Yoshitsugu Hirosake and Tokiharu Abe moved this species into the genus Rhinopias, making Peloropsis a junior synonym of that taxon.

The lacrimal bone has 2 rounded lobes over the maxillary and there are 3 or 4 spines on the suborbital ridge but these are weak and may be divided.

[2] The overall colour is reddish with small purplish speckling on the upper head and body with a large white marking near the base of the spiny part of the dorsal fin.

[6] This is a rare demersal fish found at depths between 10 and 124 m (33 and 407 ft) on substrates of either rocks or coral.