Hawaiian Fishes 



305 



Poou or Pilikoa Liilii 



113-34 Cheilinus bimactdatns Valenciennes 



Plate VIII, Figure 10 



Drawn from Jordan & Evermonn 



The poou is a little rosy red fish, greenish on the back and covered 

 with orange-red lines which are formed by the edges of the scales. The 

 caudal fin is pointed at its end and the top ray of the caudal fin is extended 

 to form a streamer. It reaches a length of about five inches. The poou 

 is a common fish and inhabits the coral rocks and pools. 



Walter Chute reports that the Hawaiians regarded this fish as one of 

 the last created and that the creator on completing it threw down his 

 tools and exclaimed "Pau!" or finished. The correct name for this fish 

 seems, however, to be poou. 



This fish is distributed from the East Indies to the Hawaiian Islands. 



Wrasse Fish 

 113-35 Cheilinus trilohatus Lacepede 

 This wrasse fish is olive gray in color and is marked with greenish- 

 blue and reddish stripes and streaks. It reaches a length of about six inches. 

 This fish is distributed from the Red Sea, Zanzibar, Madagascar, 

 Bourbon, Reunion, Mauretius, and the Seychelles along India, through 

 the East Indies, the Philippines, China, Japan, and Riu Kiu, and throughout 

 Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia as far as the Hawaiian Islands. 



Poou or Papai 



113-36 Cheilinus jmifasciatus Streets 

 The poou varies somewhat in color but is usually dull drab to reddish 

 brown over its body. Each scale is marked with a vertical red bar to give 

 this fish its characteristic pattern. It reaches a length of nearly one foot. 



