Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage
 

Naucrates ductor

Taritari Uri (AK)

Pilotfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pilotfish; German Pilotfisch; French Poisson-pilote

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Taritari (MG), Taritari Uriuri (MK MT), Taritari Uri (AK); Other Polynesian - Uri (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical; s. to NZ

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; PLUS: N.Group lagoons (Sims); Marine, near-shore - pelagic

KEY FEATURES: To 70cmSL, depth 3 in SL. Blue above, white below; with 6 BROAD BLACK BANDS ENTENDING ONTO THE FINS AND TAIL; tail tips white. Upper jawbone ending under eye; Pectoral shorter than head length; without scutes; strong lateral keel on tail base; Anal less than 70% base of 2nd Dorsal.

Enlarged Image of 'Naucrates ductor'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea:
RR 
MG
AT
MK
MT
AK
PL
TK
MN
P-inf

Northern Group: Present
TN 
MH
RK
PK
NS
SW
P

Key to Symbols

Scientific Taxonomy

Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Gasterosteus ductor [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Percoidei; Percoidea; CARANGIDAE, Naucratinae

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Adults accompany sharks, rays, turtles or large fish, feeding off their scrapes and on small fishes.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Manihiki: lagoon field ID Sims (Sims88).

References:
p.164 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.253 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 154-03 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 38-16 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 395 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. Copy citation to system clipboard
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