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Ablennes hians

Pāpā

Flat Needlefish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Flat Needlefish, Giant Needlefish, Barred Needlefish, Needlefish

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pāpā (RR MG AT MK MT MH RK), Taravana (AK), Aku (PL), Aku Pāepāe (TS TW); Other Polynesian - Iheraha (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE cirucmtropics - temperate zones

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group, RR and PL. PLUS:; Marine, pelagic

KEY FEATURES: An elongate fish to 120cm, strongly compressed. Dark above with silvery sides and belly; dark spots or short bars below Dorsal fin, sometimes continuing forward along sides. Beak jaws long and equal, with many needle-like teeth.

SIMILAR SPECIES: This is the only needlefish with spots or bars on the sides.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
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

Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846)
SYNONYMS: Belone hians [O]; Tylosurus hians

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Beloniformes; Belonoidei; Scomberesocoidea; BELONIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: 2 specimens scoop-netted at night Paruru Pera 13/4/99, Photo and ID GMc. Palmerston: reported (Preston95).

References:
p.100 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 13-09 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. p105 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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