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Alectis ciliaris

Laumanihi (MH)

African Pompano

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Hawai‘i)	30KB
Image:	Adult specimen (Pukapuka)	67KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: African Pompano, Threadfin Pompano, Pennantfish, Threadfish, African Pompano; German Palometa; French Cordonnier Fil, Carangue à Plumes

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Laumanihi (MH), Pāiele / Pāiyele (PK); Other Polynesian - Tapatai / Paaihere Auaveru (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical incl. e.Africa - Samoa - Cooks, Hawai‘i - tropical America; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group; N Group.; Marine, near-shore - pelagic, adults benthic 50-100m

KEY FEATURES: To 120cm SL; juv. 1 in SL, adult 2.5 in SL. Hind Lateral Line with scutes; Pectoral long and curved; finlets absent; 1st Dorsal spines short, and covered with age; head rounded. JUVENILE (to about 20cm) diamond-shaped, 2nd Dorsal and Anal fins with extremely long filaments; silver, bluish-silver above; ~5 broad dark diagonal bars. ADULT silvery-grey above, paler below; more elongate, fins lobed but without filaments.

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

Alectis ciliaris (Bloch, 1787)
SYNONYMS: Blepharis ciliaris; Zeus ciliaris [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CARANGIDAE, Caranginae

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: The young has been described as "one of the world's most beautiful fishes" (Tinker, 1978, Fishes of Hawaii). The long filaments of the young might give it the appearance of a jellyfish and thereby confer some proteciton from predators.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: specimen, photo & ID Sims (Sims88). Tongareva: 1 specimen 2kg trolling trials (T&P85). Pukapuka: specimen+photo, 2/2004, Pereo Nimeti with line in lagoon, ID GMcC.

References:
text p.130 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 45b Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.157 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.251 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 154-04 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 37-01 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 364 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTXmx, 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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