General Information

COMMON NAMES: Mackerel Scad; German Rotschwanz-Heringsmakrele; French Comète Maquereau TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kōperu (RR MG AT MK AK TW), Kōperu / Kōperu Tauvira < Kōperu < Kōperu Tava (MT), Koperu (PL), Kōpelu (TS PK) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical incl. e.Africa - Tuamotus; n. to s.Japan; s. to Samoa - Cooks COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; N.Group - common; S.Group - common; Marine, near-shore, lagoons & outer reef-slope to 200m, mid-water schools SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food, Baitfish KEY FEATURES: To 35cm. Elongate, nearly round in x-section, with one finlet. Bluish-green above, silvery below; gill cover with small black posterior spot. Tail YELLOWISH-GREEN. Dorsal VIII+I, 31-36+1 (spines, rays+finlet); Anal II+I, 27-30+1. Upperjaw without teeth. Scales on head between eyes extend to near pupil front-margin. Finlet is feature of genus. SIMILAR SPECIES: Slender Scad (Decapterus macrosoma) has a translucent tail (vs. yellowish-green); head scales to pupil rear-margin (vs to near front-margin). Redtail Scad (Decapterus tabl) has a red tail (vs yellow-green); row of upper teeth (vs no upper teeth); Dorsal rays 30-31 (vs. 31+), and on straight lateral line 4-10 scales (vs. 14+).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P			++++		P

Decapterus macarellus (Cuvier, 1833)
SYNONYMS: Caranx macarellus [O]; Decapterus pinnulatus

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CARANGIDAE, Caranginae

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Mitiaro (10 of 10 wild animals)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food, Baitfish. Comments: Excellent food and important Tuna baitfish.

Vouchers:
Mangaia: specimen, NBSAP, 9/2000, ID GMcC; 1981 listed as Decapterus pinnulatus (Clerk81). Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Palmerston: recorded (Preston95). Tongareva: specimen+photo, NBSAP, 2001, ID GM. Pukapuka: fieldspecimens+photo, 2/2004, ID G.McCormack - tail yellow-green, head-scales to near pupil front-edge, and upperjaw teeth absent. Suwarrow: field ID N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.128 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.163 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
plate 154-09 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 38-11 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 363 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM06a, zD02

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