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Acanthurus thompsoni

Maito (AK)

Thompson's Surgeonfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Thompson's Surgeonfish, Yellow-tailed Surgeonfish, Chocolate Surgeonfish; German Weissschwanz-Doktorfish; French Chirurgien de Thompson, Chirurgien à Queue Blanche

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Maito (AT AK TS TW), Mā (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Ducie, Hawai‘i; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia - Rapa

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group and N.Group. (RR, PL, PK) PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, outer reef-slope below 20m

KEY FEATURES: Outer reef-slope below 20m

Enlarged Image of 'Acanthurus thompsoni'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
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 thompsoni (Fowler, 1923)
SYNONYMS: Hepatus thompsoni [O]; Teuthis thompsoni

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: specimens ID N.Sims (Sims88). Palmerston: Photo72 (G&S85); Listed (Preston95). Pukapuka: Photo outer reef-slope ID N.Sims (Sims88).

References:
text p.247 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 128a Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.425 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.584 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 126-03 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 95-07 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

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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