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Balistapus undulatus

Kōkiri Tavake (AT)

Orangestriped Triggerfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult - Maldives	41KB
Video:	on Rarotonga (© Karl Traylor)	358KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Orangestriped Triggerfish, Orange-lined Triggerfish, Undulate Triggerfish, Red-lined Triggerfish; German Orangestreifen-Drückerfisch; French Baliste Strié, Baliste Vent, Baliste Ondule

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kōkiri Tavake (AT), Kōkiri (MT TW), Kokiri (PL), Kōkili (TS), Kokiri Manu (MH), Umulenga (PK); Other Polynesian - Oiri Panitoro (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Tuamotus; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group and N.Group. Common. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, lagoons, reef-flats and outer reef-slope

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Not eaten.

Enlarged Image of 'Balistapus undulatus'

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
	P		++		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

Balistapus undulatus (Park, 1797)
SYNONYMS: Balistes undulatus

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Balistoidea; BALISTIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: field specimen outer reef-slope ID N.Sims (Sims88). Palmerston: Listed (Preston95). Manihiki: A685-1specimen (B&M74). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Balistapus undulatus. Suwarrow: specimen 184mm ?T.L. A.G.Hobbs, in Stead 1907 (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.257 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 135a Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.452 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.623 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 133-05 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 100-01 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 1053 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

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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