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Cheilinus oxycephalus

Snooty Wrasse

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Snooty Wrasse, Snooty Maori Wrasse, Pointed-head Maori-Wrasse; French Labre Prétentieux

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Marquesas, n. to Taiwan, s. to GBR

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore, lagoons and outer reef-slope to 40+m

KEY FEATURES: To 15cmSL. Snout appears upturned due to dorsal concavity. Brown to red-brown with scattered small whitish spots on anterior body, whitish spots and blotches near and on dorsal fin and on tail fin; 3-4 dark spots on hind-midside and tailbase; dark spots on the upper lip and behind the eyes. A very secretive fish rarely emerging from shelter.

Enlarged Image of 'Cheilinus oxycephalus'

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

Cheilinus oxycephalus Bleeker, 1853
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Labroidei; LABRIDAE, Cheilinini

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Aitutaki: fieldspecimen+photo, June 2003, Kendall Clements, ID by J.Randall as Cheilinus oxycephalus.

References:
text p.178 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 90f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.303 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.431 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 92-12 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
Species No. 773 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zB04a, zD04a

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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