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Enchelynassa canina

‘Ā‘ā Va‘aroa

Viper Moray

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Viper Moray, Longfang Moray; German Viper-Muräne; French Murène Vipèrene

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Ā‘ā Va‘aroa (RR), Kerekere Va‘a-roa (MG), Pui Vāroa (AT), Pu‘i "what" (MK), Pu‘i Kākāmea (MT), Kalou Uluulu-akau (PK); COMMENT: Typically seen in holes with crayfish on Outer Reef-slope.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Chagos Is - Mangareva, Hawai‘i - tropical America; n. to s.Japan; s. to Tonga

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; RR, MH. PLUS: RR, MG.; Marine, near-shore

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Enchelynassa canina (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
SYNONYMS: Enchelycore canina; Muraena canina [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Anguilliformes; Muraenoidei; MURAENIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: Photo & ID Sims, head to BPBM (Sims88) Mangaia: specimen sugg. ID Clerk (Clerk81). Mauke: specimen+photo, bilobed nostril flap, College, 3/2001, ID GMcC. Pukapuka: informant reports at NBSAP meeting, 2/2004.

References:
text p.42 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 9c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.35 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
plate 5-08 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 8-02 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. p095 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

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

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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