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Amanses scopas

Broom Filefish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Broom Filefish, Brush-sided Leatherjacket; French Poisson-lime Balai

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Wālala (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Tuamotu; s.Japan - GBR

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - RR; Marine, near-shore, seaward reefs (semi-protected); to 20m

KEY FEATURES: To 20cm SL. Dark brown with a series of narrow black mid-side bars on posterior half; tail black. Dorsal, Anal and Pectoral Fins yellowish; teeth white. FEMALE large pale blotch upper-midbody, and brush-like bristles each side. MALE tail-base with 5-10 long slender spines each side.

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
			QP

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

Amanses scopas (Cuvier, 1829)
SYNONYMS: Balistes scopas [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Balistoidea; MONACANTHIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Secretive.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldsight, M & F, xxm, xxxx, ID M.Francis. Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Amanses scopas.

References:
text p.261 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 138f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.461 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.627 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 135-01 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 101-09 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 570 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

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