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Pterois radiata

Tātarai‘au

Clearfin Lionfish

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult	92KB
Image:	antennata subspecies	64KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Clearfin Lionfish, Tailbar Lionfish, Zebrafish, Radial Firefish, Clearfin Firefish, Clearfin Turkeyfish, Whitefin Lionfish; German Strahlen-Feuerfisch; French Pterois à Raies Blanches

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tātarai‘au (RR MG AK), Tātaraiau (AT), Tātarāmoa (MT), Tāleilei Sau (TS), Tāreirei Sau (TW); Other Polynesian - Tataraihau (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Societies; n. to s.Japan, south to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - RR common. PLUS:; Marine, near-shore, reef passages

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Poisonous spines - serious

KEY FEATURES: To 20cm SL.(RM91)

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

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

Pterois radiata Cuvier, 1829
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Scorpaeniformes; Scorpaenoidei; SCORPAENIDAE, Pteroinae

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: several specimens night gillnet Avatiu & Avarua Pass. ID Sims (Sims88). Mangaia: specimen, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC.

References:
text p.98 Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
plate 23f Myers (1991 2nd Ed.) Fishes of Micronesia
p.142 Burgess et al. (1988) Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes (TFH)
plate 20-02 Lieske & Myers (1996) Coral Reef Fishes
plate 18-11 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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