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Balistoides viridescens

Kōkiri Tua (AK)

Moustache Triggerfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult	36KB
Image:	Adult	37KB
Video:	on Rarotonga (© Karl Traylor)	251KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Moustache Triggerfish, Mustache Triggerfish [USA spelling], Dotty Triggerfish, Yellow-head Triggerfish, Titan Triggerfish; German Grüner Riesen-Drückerfisch; French Baliste Olivâtre, Baliste à Tête Jaune, Baliste à Moustache

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kōkiri (AT MK MT), Kōkiri Tua (AK), Kōkili / Kōkili < Sumu (TS), Kōkiri / Kōkiri < Sumu (TW), Molokuo (PK); Other Polynesian - Oiri Pao (TAH), Oiri Paga (TUA), Uma (MQ, GM)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore

Enlarged Image of 'Balistoides viridescens'

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

Balistoides viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
SYNONYMS: Balistes viridescens [O]; Pseudobalistes viridescens

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: Listed (Preston95). Pukapuka: single sighting lagoon in 4m ID N.Sims (Sims88); fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Balistoides viridescens.

References:
text p.258 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 135f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.453 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.626 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 133-06 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 100-03 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 1046 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM03a

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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