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Gnathanodon speciosus

Kavouveru (MH)

Golden Trevally

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	School of adults (Great Barrier Reef)	63KB
Image:	Small school (Manuhiki)	30KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Golden Trevally, Golden Jack, Golden Kingfish; German Gold-Makrele; French Carangue Royale Jaune

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tapa‘uru (MK AK), Riporipo (MT), Leileionga (TS), Reireionga (TW), Kavouveru (MH), Lālāwutu (PK); Other Polynesian - Paaihere Manini (TAH), Rereioga (TUA), Rega-rega (MVA); COMMENT: MH JSB&CM 1974 as kanoveru

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; PLUS: Uncommon in N.Group lagoons; Rare in S.Group. Spear and handline.; Marine, near-shore

KEY FEATURES: To 110cm SL, depth 2.5 in SL. Adults without teeth; juv. with feeble teeth in lower jaw only. JUVENILES and SUBADULTS (to 50+cm) golden-yellow with 7-11 dark bars, alternating in size; fins yellow, tail black tipped. ADULTS bars (if present) faint; a few scattered small black spots (~pupilØ) on hind-half; blue-grey above, yellowish below; fins mainly dark. Pectoral long and curved; scutes present.

Enlarged Image of 'Gnathanodon speciosus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Gnathanodon speciosus (Forsskål, 1775)
SYNONYMS: Caranx speciosus; Scomber speciosus [O]

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: recorded (Preston95). Manihiki: 1 specimen #A685 as Caranx speciosus (B&M74); field ID Sims (Sims88). Pukapuka: informant reports at NBSAP meeting, 2/2004. Suwarrow: field ID N.Sims (Sims88 & EIA99).

References:
text p.130 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 45c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.164 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.246 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 41-09 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 38-14 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 367 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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