Our recent study provides a revision of Salmoneus cristatus (Coutière, 1897), one of the earliest described species in the genus. We have redescribed the species, designated a neotype, and constructed a phylogenetic tree to clarify its taxonomic status and distribution. Our findings reveal that S. cristatus is restricted to the western and northwestern Indian Ocean, while specimens from the eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific belong to three undescribed species. Additionally, we present the first illustration of the color pattern of S. cristatus, highlighting the distinct color patterns observed between the two geographical regions, i.e., red-banded for S. cristatus and yellowish all over for the other three species.