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Photoblepharon palpebratus

Pura (MG)

Small Flashlightfish

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Small Flashlightfish, Eyelight Fish; German Kleiner Laternenfisch; French Poisson-phare

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pura (MG AT MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Maldives - Fr.Polynesia; n. to Marshalls; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; 5-25m on reef slope. PLUS: ; Marine, near-shore, outer reef-slope, 7-30m

KEY FEATURES: To 9cm SL.(RM91) Black, blunt face, large mouth, forked tail, with luminous organ under each eye. Hide during the day and hunt at night, often in shallower water on moonless nights. XXDiffers from other flashlight fish by having ONE Dorsal Fins and light turned off with a flap of skin.

Enlarged Image of 'Photoblepharon palpebratus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

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

Photoblepharon palpebratus (Boddaert, 1781)
SYNONYMS: Photoblepheron palpebratum [alt. valid spelling]; Sparus palpebratus [O]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Beryciformes; Trachichthyoidei; ANOMALOPIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1987: Japan J. Icthyol. 34(2):157-164. Rarotonga: Avarua Pass. 15m depth; CAS58145.

References:
text p.73 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate -073 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.498 Randall et al. (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef....
p.106 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 15-02 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes

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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