The painted moki (''Cheilodactylus (Morwong) ephippium''), also known as the painted morwong, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, traditionally regarded as belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cheilodactylidae Cheilodactylidae , commonly called morwongs but also known as butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, sea carp, snappers, and moki, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The common ...

, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

The painted moki was first formally described as ''Cheilodactylus ephippium'' in 1916 by the Australian

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Allan Riverstone McCulloch Allan Riverstone McCulloch (20 June 1885 – 1 September 1925) was a prominent Australian ichthyologist. Born in Sydney, Australia, McCulloch began his scientific career at the age of 13 as an unpaid assistant to Edgar Ravenswood Waite in the ...

and

Edgar Ravenswood Waite Edgar Ravenswood Waite (5 May 1866 – 19 January 1928) was a British/Australian zoologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and ornithologist. Waite was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the second son of John Waite, a bank clerk, and his wife J ...

with the type locality given as

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''epphipium'' means "saddle", an allusion which McCulloch and Waite did not explain but may be a reference to the bar behind the head. The true taxonomic relationships of the taxa traditionally classified under the family Cheilodactylidae have been considered uncertain and to have been poorly supported by some authorities over a long period of time. Genetic and morphological analyses now strongly suggest that the traditional classification of ''Cheilodactylus'' is incorrect and that the inclusion of the species other than the two southern African species in ''Cheilodactylus'', '' C. fasciatus'' and '' C. pixi'', make the genus ''Cheilodactylus'' '' sensu lato''

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and that all the other “morwongs” were closer to the

Latridae Latridae commonly called trumpeters, is a family of marine ray-finned fish. They are found in temperate seas in the Southern Hemisphere. The classification of the species within the Latridae and the related Cheilodactylidae is unclear.They a ...

. In these analyses the painted moki was found to be the sister species of the

red morwong The red morwong (''Cheilodactylus (Morwong) fuscus''), also known as the sea carp, is a species of marine ray finned fish traditionally regarded as belonging to the family Cheilodactylidae, the members of which are commonly known as morwongs. I ...

(''C. (M.) fuscus'') and so was placed within the clade '' Morwong''.

Description

The painted moki reaches a maximum length of . The colour of this fish is basically reddish-brown to brown with irregular spotting. There is a wide light coloured oblique bar running from the nape to behind the base of the

pectoral 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 ...

and joining with the pale underside. There is another shorter bar from underneath the spiny part of the dorsal fin to immediately below the centre of the body. A series of light coloured spots or a wide pale stripe run along the back from the base of the soft rayed part of the dorsal-fin.

Distribution, habitat and biology

The painted moki is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Off New South Wales it is found from Broughton Island south to Montague Island. In the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

it is found at

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

and Norfolk Island and in New Zealand it is found off the Kermadec Islands. This species is found at depths down to on inshore rocky and coral reefs. This species feeds on benthic invertebrates which it filters out of the sediment.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q587034 painted moki Fish of the North Island Fish of Lord Howe Island Fauna of Norfolk Island Fish of the Kermadec Islands painted moki