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Acanthurus nigricans

Maito

Whitecheek Surgeonfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Whitecheek Surgeonfish, Yellow-spotted Surgeonfish, Black Surgeonfish, Whiteface Surgeonfish, Whitetail Surgeonfish; German Goldrand-Doktorfish; French Chirurgien Gris, Chirurgien à Marques Jaunes, Chirurgien à Joue Blanche

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Maito (RR AT MT AK), Api ‘Ukurenga (MG), Pone (TS TW MH), Mā Tea / Mā Yikukoyi / Mā Koyi (PK); Other Polynesian - Maito Aero Uouo (TAH), Maito Maua Ino (TUA)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Cocos - Tuamotus, Hawai‘i - central America; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group, uncommon; N.Group, common. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, reef-flat and outer reef-slope to 10m

KEY FEATURES: To 16cm SL.(RM91) [ 21cm - GBR]; mainly on reef-flats to 10m outer reef-slope, not targeted as food fish

Enlarged Image of 'Acanthurus nigricans'

Cook Islands Distribution

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

Acanthurus nigricans (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Acanthurus alialia [of G&S85]; Acanthurus glaucopareius; Chaetodon nigricans [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Acanthuroidei; ACANTHURIDAE, Acanthurinae

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Palmerston: Photo69 as Acanthurus alialia (G&S85); Listed as Acanthurus glaucopareius (Preston95). Pukapuka: informant reports at NBSAP meeting, 2/2004. Suwarrow: Photo69 as Acanthurus alialia (G&S85).

References:
text p.246 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 126e Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.423 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
plate 124-13 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 94-02 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 926 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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