The flagtails (' or ' in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are

euryhaline Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the molly (''Poecilia sphenops'') which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water. The green crab (''Carcinus maenas'') is an e ...

and often found in brackish water, but the genus also includes species restricted to marine or fresh water. Several species are known as Hawaiian flagtails, particularly ''K. sandvicensis'' and ''K. xenura''.

Etymology

The genus ''Kuhlia'' is named for the German zoologist Heinrich Kuhl (1797–1821).

Description

The distinctive characteristic of these fish is a scaly sheath around the dorsal and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s. The dorsal fin is deeply notched between the 10 spines and the 9 to 13 soft rays. The opercle has two spines, and the anal fin three. Their bodies are compressed and silvery, and they tend to be small, growing to 50 cm at most. During the day, they usually school, dispersing at night to feed on free-swimming fish and crustaceans.

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Kuhlia caudavittata The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but th ...

'' (

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in t ...

, 1802)

* ''

Kuhlia malo ''Kuhlia malo'' is a freshwater and brackish water species of ray-finned fish from the family Kuhliidae which is endemic to French Polynesia. Description ''Kuhlia malo'' is a silvery colour with small, round, black spots over its back. The rear ...

'' ( Valenciennes, 1831) * ''

Kuhlia marginata ''Kuhlia marginata'', the dark-margined flagtail, spotted flagtail, silver flagtail, orange-finned flagtail, northern jungle perch or mountain bass, is a species of diadromous ray-finned fish, a flagtail from the family Kuhliidae. It is found in ...

'' (

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1829) (spotted or dark-margined flagtail) * ''

Kuhlia mugil ''Kuhlia mugil'', the barred flagtail, the fiveband flagtail or the five-bar flagtail, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a flagtail belonging to the family Kuhliidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region. Description ''Kuhlia mugil'' ...

'' ( J. R. Forster, 1801) (barred flagtail) * '' Kuhlia munda'' ( De Vis, 1884) (silver flagtail) * '' Kuhlia nutabunda'' Kendall &

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, 1912 (Rapanui flagtail) * ''

Kuhlia petiti The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but t ...

'' L. P. Schultz, 1943 * ''

Kuhlia rupestris ''Kuhlia rupestris'', the rock flagtail, jungle perch. mountain trout, buffalo bream, dusky-finned bulleye, rockmountain bass or spotted flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail, from the family Kuhliidae. It is a catadromous speci ...

'' (

, 1802) (rock flagtail, jungle perch) * ''

Kuhlia salelea The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but t ...

'' L. P. Schultz, 1943 * '' Kuhlia sandvicensis'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1876) (Hawaiian flagtail) * ''

Kuhlia sauvagii The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but t ...

'' Regan, 1913 * ''

Kuhlia xenura ''Kuhlia xenura'', the strange-tailed flagtail or Hawaii flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail from the family Kuhliidae which is endemic to Hawaii, where it occurs in fresh, brackish, and marine waters. It can be found in tide p ...

'' ( D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882)Randall, J.E. and H.A. Randall, 2001. Review of the fishes of the genus Kuhlia (Perciformes: Kuhliidae) of the Central Pacific. Pac. Sci. 55(3):227-256.

Timeline

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Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text: Miocene from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text:

Kuhlia The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but th ...

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleocene from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eocene from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2349448, from2=Q1426749 Monogeneric fish families Extant Eocene first appearances