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Hemitaurichthys polylepis

Taputapu

Pyramid Butterflyfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Rarotonga)	21KB
Image:	Adlt (Rarotonga)	26KB
Image:	Small school over coral (Palmerston)	62KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pyramid Butterflyfish, Shy Butterflyfish, Brushytoothed Butterflyfish; German Gelber Pyramiden-Falterfisch; French Poisson-papillon Pyramide Jaune

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Taputapu (RR AT MT AK), Tītī (TS TW); Other Polynesian - Paraharaha (TAH)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; PLUS: S.Group and N.Group. Common. Outer reef-slope to 35 metres.; Marine, near-shore

Enlarged Image of 'Hemitaurichthys polylepis'

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

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

Hemitaurichthys polylepis (Bleeker, 1857)
SYNONYMS: Chaetodon polylepis [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CHAETODONTIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: Photo38 (G&S85); Listed (Preston95). Suwarrow: field ID N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.157 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 67e Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.233 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.351 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 64-09 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 58-10 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

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

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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