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Myrichthys maculosus

Kākākuru

Spotted Snake-Eel

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult	94KB
Image:	Adult - dead; full body	19KB
Image:	Adult, Rarotonga	53KB
Article:	Are there snakes in the Cook Islands? Gerald McCormack, October 2005	Read

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Spotted Snake-Eel, Tiger Snake-Eel; German Gefleckter Schlangenaal; French Anguille-serpent Maculé

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kākākuru (RR), Pu‘i Kōtuku (MG), Pui ‘Ōvī (AT), ‘Ōvī Tai (MK MT), Pīpīkōiro (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Marquesas; n. to s.Japan; s. to Lord Howe - Rapa

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Common, S.Group and N.Group. PLUS: Sometimes called Ovi (snake).; Marine, near-shore, reef-flat

KEY FEATURES: To 100cm TL.

Enlarged Image of 'Myrichthys maculosus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	+++		+	P

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			-		P

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Myrichthys maculosus (Cuvier, 1816)
SYNONYMS: Muraena maculosa [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Anguilliformes; Congroideii; OPHICHTHIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mangaia:_Listed (Clerk81). Suwarrow: field ID Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.57 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 11d Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.45 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.61 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 8-12 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 10-05 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 129 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM05b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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