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Coris gaimard

Ika-ulu-yauma (PK)

Yellowtail Coris

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Terminal phase male and juvenile	33KB
Image:	Adult	54KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Yellowtail Coris, Clown Wrasse, Many-coloured Combfish; German Gelbschwanz-Junker; French Coris Bariolé

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Ika-ulu-yauma (PK); Other Polynesian - Poou Pataitai (TAH)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; In Tikioki lagoon, midway near large coralheads. Rare and wary. Flips rocks over with snout in search of invertebrates. PLUS: ; Marine, near-shore, lagoons and outer reef-slopes

KEY FEATURES: To 38cm SL. Slender, depth 3.5x in SL. JUV bright orange-red with 5 dorsal white marks with black edges. IP green with small blue spots, increasingly closer together to the rear; Tail yellow; head orange-brown with wide green stripes. TP-MALE similar IP but with blue spots smaller and more dense posteriorly, and wide green bar above Anal Fin origin.

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
			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

Coris gaimard (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)
SYNONYMS: Julis gaimard [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Labroidei; LABRIDAE, Julidini

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: field sighting reef-flat Muri N.Sims (Sims88). Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Aitutaki: field sighting back-reef Maina N.Sims (Sims88); fieldsight, lagoon, 12/2000, GMcC. Pukapuka: informant reports at NBSAP meeting, 2/2004.

References:
text p.184 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 96c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.313 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.439 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 97-02 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 74-13 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 794 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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