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Melichthys vidua

Kōkiri Iku-tea

Pinktail Triggerfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pinktail Triggerfish, White-tailed Triggerfish; German Witwen-Drückerfisch; French Baliste à Queue Rose

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kōkiri Iku-tea (RR), Kōkiri (AT), Kōkiri Tua (MK), Kōkili Kelekele (TS), Kōkiri Kerekere (TW), Kōkiri Vānangatea (MH), Yikutea (PK); Other Polynesian - Oiri Aero Uouo (TAH)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group, uncommon; N.Group, very common. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, Mid-water on steep outer reef-slope

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

Melichthys vidua (Richardson ex Solander, 1845)
SYNONYMS: Balistes vidua [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Balistoidea; BALISTIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: Photo82 (G&S85). Manihiki: Listed - no specimen number (B&M74). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Melichthys vidua. Suwarrow: Stead 1907 specimen (235mm ?T.L.) as Balistes vidua from A.G.Hobbs (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.258 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 136b Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.454 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.623 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 132-03 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 106-05 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 1050 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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