The flagtails (' or ' in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

) are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(Kuhliidae) of

centrarchiform Centrarchiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, previously included amongst the perciformes. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2023). FishBase. Centrarchiformes. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies. ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

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 about 12 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 short-finned molly, '' Poecilia sphenops'', which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water. The green crab ('' Carcinus m ...

and often found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Heinrich Kuhl Heinrich Kuhl (17 September 1797 – 14 September 1821) was a German people, German naturalist and zoologist. Kuhl was born in Hanau (Hesse, Germany). Between 1817 and 1820, he was the assistant of professor Th. van Swinderen, docent of natural ...

(1797–1821).

Description

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

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

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

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Kuhlia caudavittata'' ( Lacépède, 1802) * '' Kuhlia malo'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1831) * '' Kuhlia marginata'' ( G. Cuvier, 1829) (spotted or dark-margined flagtail) * '' Kuhlia mugil'' ( J. R. Forster, 1801) (barred flagtail) * '' Kuhlia munda'' ( De Vis, 1884) (silver flagtail) * '' Kuhlia nutabunda'' Kendall & Radcliffe, 1912 (Rapanui flagtail) * '' Kuhlia petiti'' L. P. Schultz, 1943 * '' Kuhlia rupestris'' ( Lacépède, 1802) (rock flagtail, jungle perch) * '' Kuhlia salelea'' L. P. Schultz, 1943 * ''

Kuhlia sandvicensis ''Kuhlia sandvicensis'', the reticulated flagtail, zebra-headed flagtail or Hawaiian flagtail, is a species of ray-finned fish, a flagtail from the Family (biology), family Kuhliidae which is found in the central Pacific Ocean. It is popular as a ...

'' ( Steindachner, 1876) (Hawaiian flagtail) * '' Kuhlia sauvagii'' Regan, 1913 * '' Kuhlia xenura'' ( 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.

References

Extant Eocene first appearances {{Centrarchiformes-stub