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Ostracion cubicus

Moamoa

Yellow Boxfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Yellow Boxfish, Polka Dot Boxfish, Cube Trunkfish, Blue-spotted Boxfish, Spotted Boxfish; German Gelbbrauner Kofferfisch; French Poisson-coffre Jaune

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Moamoa (RR AT MK TS TW MH RK PK NS), Moamoa Renga (MG), Ueue (MT), Maomao Po‘aki (AK), Boxfish (PL); Other Polynesian - Momoa Afara (TAH)

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

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group and N.Group. (RR, AK, MH, PK, SW) PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, lagoon and outer reef-slope

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Not eaten.

KEY FEATURES: To 30cm SL., extreme 45cm. Lagoon & outer reef-slopes.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Ostracion cubicus Linnaeus, 1758
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Tetraodontiformes; Tetraodontoidei; Ostracioidea; OSTRACIIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: field sigthings ID N.Sims (Sims88). Aitutaki: field sigthings ID N.Sims (Sims88). Manihiki: Photos N.Sims, ID J.E.Randall (Sims88). Pukapuka: field sigthings ID N.Sims (Sims88); fieldspecimens, 2/2004, ne.lagoon, G.McCormack with ID as Ostracion cubicus. Suwarrow: Photos N.Sims, ID J.E.Randall (Sims88); field ID N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.265 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 140c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.469 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.638 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 136-04 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 103-03 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 1072 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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