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Xyrichthys pavo

Indianfish / Blue Razorfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Indianfish / Blue Razorfish, Peacock Wrasse, Pavo Razorfish; French Labre-rasoir, Rason Paon

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Societies; Hawai‘i - Mexico; s.Japan - Lord

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore, lagoon, seaward reef; clear lagoons, seaward reefs, Juv. 2+m, Adult 20-100+m

KEY FEATURES: To 35cm SL. JUV. white to light brown, body with 4 broad dark-brown bands extending onto Dorsal, Anal and Pectoral; 2 central bands ± black eyespot on Dorsal; front band linked to narrower head band linked to long brown feather-like forward-pointing 1st Dorsal Fin. Mimic drifting waterlogged leaf. ADULT blue to grey with 4 broad indistinct dark bars, 1st Dorsal not long or distinctive. Burrow in sand when disturbed.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Bronzespot Razorfish (Xyrichthys celebecus) adult uniform with dark blotch behind Pectoral and dark strip on side of tail-base (vs 4 bold or indistinct bands).. NOTE: To 35cm. JUV pale with 4 broad brown bands, and long brown featherlike 1st Dorsal, mimics drifting waterlogged leaf; ADULT grey to blue, indistinct dark bars, 1st Dorsal short, burrows into sand when threatened. Similar: Bronzespot Razorfish has large bronze blotch behind Pectoral and dark stripe on side of Tailbase.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

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

Xyrichthys pavo Valensciennes, 1839
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Labroidei; LABRIDAE, Novaculini

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldsight, 1 only JUV 8cm banded with long first Dorsal, 25m, Sand River off U.Tupapa, 10/2001, ID M.Francis.

References:
text p.181 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 93cd Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.341 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.457-8 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 93-09 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 78-10 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

Data Update History (information):
zB02, 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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