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Chlorurus microrhinos

U‘u Pokotoki (MK)

Pacific Steephead Parrotfish

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Image:	Terminal phase male, juvenile and initial phase	35KB
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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pacific Steephead Parrotfish, Big-blue Parrotfish; German Pazifischer Buckelkopf; French Perroquet du pacifique à Profil Tronqué

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Ūpokotoki (AT), U‘u Pokotoki (MK MT), Vaiā / Pokopoko U‘u < Poko U‘u < U‘u < Avarau (AK), Greenfish < Poshow (PL), Uhu (TS TW), Manenga (MH), Mānenga / Wū Mānenga < Mānenga (PK); Other Polynesian - Uhu Raepuu (TAH), Manea, Manega (TM, GM), Tatuahurivaa (TAH-L); COMMENT: Mitiaro - U‘u Pokotoki is U‘u (parrot) + Pokotoki (humphead).

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Indonesia - Pitcairn; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Lagoon and forereef to 35+m PLUS: ; Marine, near-shore, lagoons and outer reef-slope

KEY FEATURES: To 50cm SL. Blue-green dental plates well exposed, with 1-2 canines on upper plate; bulbous forehead, near vertical in large males (hence the name Pacific Steephead Parrotfish); tail truncate with increasingly long lobes in adults. JUVENILES brown with 3 yellowish stripes on sides and one below Dorsal fin; gradually darkening as they approach 20cm SL. BOTH SEXES are dark blue-green, paler ventrally; face and cheeks pink; TERMINAL MALES similar colour plus a dark blue band over upper lip and under the chin joining behind the mouth to form a distinctive stripe across the cheek.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Distinctive vertical face; pale face and upper cheek; dark blue upper lip and chin and stripe on check.

Enlarged Image of 'Chlorurus microrhinos'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Chlorurus microrhinos (Bleeker, 1854)
SYNONYMS: Scarus gibbus [an Indian Ocean species previously including the Pacific microrhinos]; Scarus microrhinos [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Labroidei; SCARIDAE, Scarinae

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comments: [incl. G&S85 and Sims88; a Red Sea species]

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mangaia: residents ID from photos (Clerk81). Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Aitutaki: field sightings males & females (Sims88); fieldsight, lagoon-TP, 12/2000, GMcC. Palmerston: Photo61 as Scarus gibbus (G&S85); field sightings males & females (Sims88); Listed as Scarus gibbus (Preston95). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Chlorurus microrhinos. Suwarrow: Photo61 as Scarus gibbus (G&S85).

References:
text p.196 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 109d Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.351 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
plate 109-01 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 81-01 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 846 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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