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Monotaxis grandoculis

Mū

Bigeye Bream

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Rarotonga) and juvenile (SW Pacific)	34KB
Image:	Sub-adult colour morphs (Cook Islands)	51KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Bigeye Bream, Big-eye, Grand-eyed Porgy-fish, Bigeye Emperor, Humpnose Bigeye-Bream; German Grossaugen-Strassenkehrer; French Empereur Bossu, Daurade Tropicale

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Mū (RR MG AT MK MT TS TW), Mū ‘Ue (AK), Mu (PL), Mū / Mūmū < Mū < Mū Tonga (PK); Other Polynesian - Mu, Maraa, Maraa Hu‘a, Maraa Rarahi (TUA)

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

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Prized foodfish

KEY FEATURES: To 50cm SL.

Enlarged Image of 'Monotaxis grandoculis'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Monotaxis grandoculis (Forsskål, 1775)
SYNONYMS: Monotaxis grandoculus; Sciaena grandoculis [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; LETHRINIDAE. COMMENT: older books, eg. Tinker's Fishes of Hawaii, put this species in Family Sparidae, Porgy-fish Family

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: Carpenter & Allen 1989, FAO Spec. Synop. #125 (v.9). Aitutaki: field-specimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM. Tongareva: Listed (Preston95). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Monotaxis grandoculis. Suwarrow: field ID N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
Special Reference: Carpenter & Allen 1989. Emperor fishes and large-eye breams of the world (Lethrinidae)... FAO Spec. Synop. #125 (v.9).

text p.143 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 55b Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.204 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.293 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 52-01 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 47-01 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 559 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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