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Halichoeres ornatissimus

Ornate Wrasse

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Image:	Adult (Rarotonga)	34KB
Image:	Adult (Rarotonga)	78KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Ornate Wrasse, Red Checkerboard Wrasse; German Ornament-Junker; French Labre Orné

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pātakotako (TS TW)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group. (RR); Marine, near-shore, outer reef-slope

KEY FEATURES: To 15cmSL. JUVENILE two green-edged black spots on Dorsal Fin, the hindspot disappearing first with growth. ADULT red with green spot on each scale; head and face with green stripes, and a green-and-black spot behind the eye.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Halichoeres biocellatus juvenile dull metallic sheen in rows of light green marks along heaad and back.

Enlarged Image of 'Halichoeres ornatissimus'

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

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

Halichoeres ornatissimus (Garrett, 1863)
SYNONYMS: Julis ornatissimus [O]

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: Photo 23m depth Tikioki ID N.Sims, confirmed J.E.Randall (Sims88).

References:
p.320 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.445 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 99-05 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 76-13 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

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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