Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Chaetodon mertensii

Taputapu

Merten's Butterflyfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (SW Pacific)	37KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Merten's Butterflyfish, Orange-bar Butterflyfish, Atoll Butterflyfish; German Mertens Winkel-Falterfisch; French Poisson-papillon de Mertens

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Taputapu (RR AT MT AK), Tītī (TS TW); Other Polynesian - Paraharaha (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Sri Lanka - Tuamotus; n. to s.Japan; s. to Lord Howe - Rapa

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; PLUS: RR (sims, sighting). Outer reef-slope.; Marine, near-shore

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

Chaetodon mertensii Cuvier, 1831
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CHAETODONTIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: field ID 25m depth Avarua N.Sims (Sims88).

References:
text p.154 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 63f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.225 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.336 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 58-06 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 57-01 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

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

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.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List