Flagtail

The flagtails (āhole or āholehole 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 the genus also includes species restricted to marine or fresh water.

Flagtail
Hawaiian flagtail (K. sandvicensis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Kuhliidae
D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1896[1]
Genus: Kuhlia
T. N. Gill, 1861[2]
Type species
Perca ciliate
G. Cuvier, 1828[2]
Synonyms[3]

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).[4]

Description

The distinctive characteristic of these fish is a scaly sheath around the dorsal and anal fins. 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:[5]

Timeline
QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneKuhliaQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene
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References
  • Mary Kawena Pukui and Elbert (2003). "lookup of āholehole". on Hawaiian dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  • Mary Kawena Pukui and Elbert (2003). "lookup of āhole". on Hawaiian dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  1. Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230.
  2. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Kuhlia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  3. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Kuhliidae genera". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. Template:Kuhlia
  5. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Kuhlia in FishBase. August 2013 version.
  6. 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.
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