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Cephalopholis argus

Pātuki Roi

Peacock Grouper

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Rarotonga)	47KB
Video:	on Rarotonga, courtship (© Karl Traylor)	391KB
Image:	Grouper teeth	75KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Peacock Grouper, Argus Grouper, Blue-spotted Grouper; German Pfauen-Zackenbarsch; French Mérou Céleste, Vieille Cuisiniére, Vielle la Prude

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pātuki Roi (RR), Roi (MG AT MT TW), Roi < Tarāoa Roi (MK), Taraoa Roi (AK), Blaicot (PL), Loi (TS), Karoiroi (MH), Loi / Kāloiloi < Loi (PK); Other Polynesian - Roi / Hapaaui (TAH), Paaui (MQA)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Common, S.Group and N.Group. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, lagoon and outer slope to 20m

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food

KEY FEATURES: To 40cm SL.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	^P	^^P	^^P		^+++	+++

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P	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

Cephalopholis argus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; SERRANIDAE, Epinephelinae

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: BPBM 1981,30595; 3954. Mangaia: CAS62186 (DSM58); recorded (Clerk81); specimen, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC. Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Mauke: field-specimen, College coll., 3/2001, ID GMcC. Aitutaki: field-specimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM; fieldsight, lagoon, 12/2000, GMcC. Palmerston: Photo14 (G&S85). Manihiki: specimens #A958 x2, A963 x2 (B&M74). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Cephalopholis argus.

References:
text p.104 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 30a Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.100 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.182 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 24-11 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 22-04 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 473 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM06a, 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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