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Siganus spinus

Maemae (AK)

Scribbled Rabbitfish

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Image:	School of adults	46KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Scribbled Rabbitfish, Spiny Rabbitfish, Little Spinefoot, Striped Rabbitfish, Scribbled spinefoot; German Stachliger Kaninchenfisch; French Poisson-lapin Rayé, Petit Sigan

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pipiriri < Maemae < Mōrava (RR), Piripirirī < Tūtae Nui < Maemae (MG), Pirirī < Maemae < Mae (AT), Maemae (MT AK), Mōlava (TS), Mōrava (TW), Mālava (PK); Other Polynesian - Paauara (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE India - Societies; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group and N.Group. More in S.Group. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, Shallow lagoons and reef-flats and in surge zone

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Prized food, poisonous spines; Poisonous spines - serious

KEY FEATURES: To 25cm SL.

Cook Islands Distribution

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

Northern Group:
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

Pests & Hosts

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Relationship	Hosts
Venomous - spines	Homo sapiens,

Scientific Taxonomy

Siganus spinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Sparus spinus [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Perciformes; Acanthuroidei; SIGANIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Prized food, poisonous spines
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous spines - serious. Comments: Injury from spines is relieved rapidly by any "white toothpaste" (Mangaia, Sue Ngatokorua, 5/2000).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: Woodland 1990, Revision of the fish family Siganidae... Indo-Pacific Fishes 19. Rarotonga: specimen set gill-net Avatiu pass. ID N.Sims, to BPBM, confirmed J.E.Randall (Sims88). Mangaia: specimen, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC. Pukapuka: informant reports at NBSAP meeting, 2/2004.

References:
text p.253 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 133f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.439 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.599 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 129-10 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 93-06 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....
Species No. 897 Munro (1967) Fishes of New Guinea

Data Update History (information):
zTXmx, 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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