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Fistularia commersonii

Tātāvere

Cornetfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Cornetfish, Smooth Flutemouth, Commerson's Cornetfish; German Flötenfisch; French Poisson-flûte, Aiguillette de Fond

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tātāvere (RR MH RK), ‘Ānū (MG), Rārā‘i (AT), ‘Āniuniu (MK), Tāverovero (MT), Pāpā (AK), Tāverevere (PL), Kōhaki Tātāvele (TS), Kōhaki Tātāvere (TW), Taotaoama / Tātāvelo < Taotaoama (PK NS); Other Polynesian - Aupapa (TAH); COMMENT: Vere means "a filament", here referring to the long tail.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Easter, Hawai‘i - tropical America; n. to s.Japan; s. to n.NZ

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Common S.Group and N.Group. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, lagoon and reef-flat

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Excellent eating.

KEY FEATURES: To 150cm SL.

Enlarged Image of 'Fistularia commersonii'

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	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

Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838
SYNONYMS: Fistularia petimba [mistaken] [Fr nom Cornette à taches bleues]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Gasterosteiformes; Syngnathoidei; Aulostomoida; Aulostomoidea; FISTULARIIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mangaia: specimen, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC; as Fistularia petimba, Kaumata Village reef 0-1m, CAS68558/ Teana Teraºa Tawaºena District, shallow open lagoon 1m, CAS27952 (DSM58); recorded (Clerk81). Mauke: fieldspecimen, College, 3/2001, ID GMcC. Aitutaki: fieldsight, lagoon, 12/2000, GMcC. Palmerston: Photo09 as Fistularia petimba (G&S85). Manihiki: 1 specimen #A685, as Fistularia petimba (B&M74). Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Fistularia commersonii. Suwarrow: seen N.Sims (Sims EIA99).

References:
text p.81 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 19c Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.69 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.119 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 15-06 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 16-08 Allen (1997) Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia....

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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