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Chaetodon lunulatus

Taputapu

Redfin Butterflyfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Aitutaki)	32KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Redfin Butterflyfish, Melon Butterflyfish, Lineated Butterflyfish, Rainbow Butterflyfish, Three-banded Butterflyfish; German Gewöhnlicher Rippen-Falterfisch; French Chaetodon à Trois Bandes, Papillon Délavé

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Taputapu (RR AT MK MT AK PL), Ti‘iti‘i (MG), Tītī (TS TW), Tihitihi (MH RK), Laununui? / Yama? / Ponepone? (PK); Other Polynesian - Paraharaha (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Tuamotus, Hawai‘i; n. to s.Japan; s. to Norfolk

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Not eaten.

KEY FEATURES: To 15cm SL.

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

Chaetodon lunulatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
SYNONYMS: Chaetodon trifasciatus [now recognised as an Indian Ocean species]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CHAETODONTIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Aitutaki: field-specimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM; lagoon fieldsight, 12/2000, GMcC. Palmerston: Photo34 (G&S85): Listed (Preston95). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Chaetodon lunulatus. Suwarrow: Photo34 (G&S85).

References:
text p.156 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 66c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.229 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.336 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 62-01 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 56-06 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 683 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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