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Auxis thazard

Frigate Tuna

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Frigate Tuna, Frigate Mackerel, Leadenall; French Auxide

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical (NB rare Atlantic). Mainly coastal; rare around oceanic islands; only Polynesian records Hawai‘i, Marquesas and Northern Cooks.

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, a single record (1978); N.Group. Known from one specimen taken in Skipjack school near TN 1978. PLUS:; Marine, pelagic

KEY FEATURES: Small tuna to 50cm. Body fusiform, round and elongate, naked except for scales on anterior body and along mid-sides (corselet). Head blue-black, back blue; belly white; 15+ dark wavy obligue bars on upper body, posterior half. Dorsals well separated, 1st with 10-12 spines; 8 finlets.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Bullet Tuna (Auxis rochei) is also circumtropical. Difficult to separate. Bullet Tuna pectoral fin tip anterior to margin of dorsal scaleless area (vs posterior); and corselet 8-15 scales wide under 2nd Dorsal origin (vs. 5 or less).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: - Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Auxis thazard (Lacepède, 1800)
SYNONYMS: Scomber thazard [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Scombroidei; SCOMBRIDAE, Thunnini

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: 1 specimen from mixed school with Skipjack, 12/78 (Kerney, Gillett & Hallier, 1979, SPC Skipjack Survey and Asseement Programme, Prelim. Country Rpt #15).

References:
Special Reference: [See $Gymnosarda unicolor@ for FAO ref (p30)] Kearny, Gillet & Hallier 1979, Skipjack Survey and Assessment Programme, Preliminary Country Report #15, S.P.C Noumea. [p.6 one mixed school with Skipjack, p.4 one specimen measured, near Penrhyn 12/78]; Lawson & Kearny 1982, Skipjack Survey ......, Final Country Report #2, S.P.C Noumea. [repeat of data].

p.447 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.602 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 97-10 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. p203 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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