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Labroides dimidiatus

Moko Tai (PK)

Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult	20KB
Image:	Adult	25KB
Video:	on Rarotonga (© Karl Traylor)	309KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Cleaner Wrasse, Paradise Fish; German Gemeiner Putzerfisch; French Nettoyeur Commun, Nettoyeur à Bande Bleue

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Moko / Moko Tai (PK); Other Polynesian - Poou (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Ducie; n. to s.Japan; s. to Lord Howe - Rapa

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group and N.Group. Very Common PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, lagoons, reef-flat and outer reef-slope, over rubble

KEY FEATURES: To 12cm SL. Sexes similar in appearance. Elongate, 4.5x in SL, with pointed snout. JUV upperside blue stripe from snout to top tail-tip, sides black, underside grey. ADULTS variable, usually pale yellow forward half and light blue posterior half, with black mideside stripe narrow at snout uniformly broadening to cover most of tail.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Cleaner Mimic (Aspidontus taeniatus) similar but has mouth under the snout and below the black stripe (vs at tip of snout and within the black stripe).

Enlarged Image of 'Labroides dimidiatus'

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

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

Labroides dimidiatus (Valenciennes, 1839)
SYNONYMS: Cossyphus dimidiatus [O]

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Aitutaki: fieldsight, lagoon, 12/2000, GMcC. Palmerston: Photo58 (G&S85); Listed (Preston95). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Labroides dimidiatus. Suwarrow: field ID N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.191 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 104a Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.325 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.469 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 104-05 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 77-03 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 793 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

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