RANDALL: SURVEY OF CIGUATERA AT MARSHALL ISLANDS 



least, it is usually encountered in water of 20 m or 

 more. Though mainly found on the outside of sea 

 reefs and in passes, it may also occur in lagoons. It 

 is often observed in large aggregations. 



Thirty-one specimens of L. gibbus from 

 Enewetak 302-375 mm SL (largest 1.8 kg) were 

 collected. Twenty-one of these fishes were non- 

 poisonous; five were rated as 1, two were 2, and 

 three ranked 3 by the mongoose test. 



Thirty-five specimens from Bikini, 279-385 mm 

 SL, were tested. All but three were nontoxic; the 

 three toxic fish produced a mongoose reaction of 

 only 1. 



Randall and Brock (1960) collected 23 speci- 

 mens in the Society Islands of which only 9 had 

 food in their stomachs (5 of these were juveniles). 

 The four adults contained fishes, crabs, and un- 

 identified crustaceans. Hiatt and Strasburg( 1960) 

 examined 43 specimens (175-260 mm SL) from the 

 Marshall Islands of which 10 had empty stomachs. 

 Crustaceans were the main food, especially crabs 

 (60% contained xanthids and 17% portunids); 

 Amphineura were found in 13% of the stomachs. 

 Octopus, Natica,Ptychodera, small holothurians, 

 polychaetes, sipunculids, and ^sh. Apogon were all 

 found in 4% of the stomachs. Talbot (1960) re- 

 ported on the capture of 121 specimens. He wrote, 

 "Foods eaten were mainly crustaceans, including 

 crabs and Penaeid prawnis. Small coral fishes were 

 also occasionally taken." Helfrich et al. (1968) 

 found food in 36 of 45 stomachs of adults from the 



Line Islands; fishes were the main item of diet, 

 with crustaceans the second most abundant. 

 [Fishes included unidentified eels, acanthurids, 

 and Pomacentrus nigricans (= Stegastes nigri- 

 cans).] Most crustaceans were brachyuran crabs, 

 but there were also alpheid shrimps and slipper 

 lobster. Mollusk remains were mainly proso- 

 branchs, but opisthobranchs and cephalopods 

 were also found. Sea urchins were the most com- 

 mon of the miscellaneous invertebrates composing 

 the rest of the stomach contents. 



During the present study the stomachs of 51 

 specimens from the Marshall Islands, 260-419 mm 

 SL, were examined. Twenty-seven were empty. Of 

 those with food, 40% had eaten crabs, 26% fishes 

 (including Pseudocheilinus sp. and Adioryx mi- 

 crostomus), 17% echinoids {inclxiding Eucidar is sp. 

 and Heterocentrotus mamillatus), 12% ophiuroids 

 (including Ophiocoma erinaceus), 2.1% alpheid 

 shrimps, 2.1% octopus, and 0.3% gastropods. 



Lutjanus monostigmus (Cuvier) (Figure 29): 

 This species, named from the blackish spot usually 

 present on its side (on lateral line), is capable of 

 causing severe cases of ciguatera. Belotte (1955) 

 gave the case history of an American who was in a 

 coma 3 days after eating this snapper in Tahiti; 

 the author also interviewed this man. The sale of 

 this species in Tahiti, where it is called "taivaiva," 

 (Randall 1972) is forbidden. It is found in reef 

 environments from shallow water to moderate 



Figure 29.— Lutjanus monostigmus, 249 mm SL, Florida Island, Solomon Islands. 



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