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Cheilopogon atrisignis

Māroro

Greater Spotted Flyingfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Greater Spotted Flyingfish, Glider Flyingfish; French Exocet planeur

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Māroro / Tipa < Māroro (RR MT), Māroro (MG AT MK AK TW), Maroro 'purple' (PL), Mālolo (TS), Mālolo / Witiwiti < Yipa < Mālolo < Mālolo Punakau (PK); Other Polynesian - Marara (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Samoa, Hawai‘i - Galapagos; n. to s.Japan; s. to Niue - s.Cooks

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, pelagic.

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food

KEY FEATURES: A large flyingfish to 33cm with long Pectoral Fins - they reach to the end of the Dorsal fin. Blue above and silver below. The Pectoral are dusky purplish with large dark spots anteriorly and posteriorly. The Dorsal Fin sometimes has a large dark spot.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Separated from Cypselurus peociloperus which also has spotted pectorals, by its larger size, the anterior and posterior placement of the spots, and by usually having a large spot on the dorsal fin.

Enlarged Image of 'Cheilopogon atrisignis'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group:
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

Cheilopogon atrisignis (Jenkins, 1903)
SYNONYMS: Cypsilurus atrisignis [O]; Cypselurus atrisignis

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Beloniformes; Belonoidei; Exocoetoidea; EXOCOETIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food. Comments: Scooped with dip-net and lamp at night.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: 2 specimens, 9/89, ID Collete confirmed Parin (Gillet&Ianelli, FAO/UNDP Field Doc 91/7). Rarotonga: specimens, 3/2000, in market, ID GM. Mauke: field-specimen, College collection, 3/2001, ID GMcC. Pukapuka: 4 fieldspecimens+photo, 1/2004, Mururai Muruai, ID GMcC as Cheilopogon atrisignis pectorals red-brown with 2-many black spots, Dorsal with dorsocentral black spot

References:
p.99 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
Species No. 187 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

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