pekapeka
1. (noun) bat (animal) - endemic long-tailed (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) and short-tailed (Mystacina tuberculata) bats. Long-tailed bats live in caves and hollow trees, while the short-tailed bat is found in heavy bush of the North Island.
Pērā hoki me Māui-pōtiki i tango rā i te āhua o te kāhu, o te kāeaea, o te ruru, o te kea, o te pekapeka, o te kiore, o te kererū, o te noke hoki; kātahi anō ka mate i a Hine-nui-te-pō i roto i tōna whare i Pōtaka-rongorongo. (JPS 1922:48). / It was thus that Māui-pōtiki took on the form of the harrier hawk, the New Zealand falcon, the morepork, the kea, the bat, the rat, the pigeon, and the worm; until he was finally killed by Hine-nui-te-pō in her house at Pōtaka-rongorongo.
2. (noun) carpetshark, Cephaloscyllium isabellum - light brown with irregular, dark brown saddles, spots and blotches. Endemic to the coastal waters of Aotearoa/New Zealand at 0-700 m depth. Relatively common on sand and shelly-cobble bottoms.
3. (noun) cotton fireweed, Senecio quadridentatus - found throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand from coastal to subalpine habitats, always in recently distrubed ground. Short-lived, usually much branched, native perennial herb up to 1 m tall.
4. (noun) greenstone ear ornament.
Te maha o te heitiki, o te kuru pounamu, o te mako, o te pekapeka, o te pōria (NM 1928:129). / There were many neck pendants in a human image, greenstone ornaments, shark-tooth ornaments, greenstone ear ornaments and captive bird rings of bone or stone used as ornaments.
5. (noun) starfish, sea star - a general term.
Synonyms: papatangaroa, pātangatanga, pātangaroa
6. (noun) comb star, Astropecten polyacanthus - a five-pointed starfish 200-250 mm across, of buff or yellowish brown colour, very spiny at the sides and underneath, but with a dense pile-like texture on top. Found on sandy bottoms from low-water to about 55 m, but occasionally on sandy flats between tides around the North Island east coast.
2. (modifier) branched, having branches.
3. (noun) branch.
Ko ngā rau me ngā pekapeka o ngā mānuka kua maroke (TWK 53:20). / The leaves and branches of the mānuka trees have dried.
whiri pekapeka
1. (noun) flat rope of nine strands.
Synonyms: tari-karakia, tuapuku, tuamaka, tari-kākāriki, rauru, whiri papa, whiri kawe, kārure, tōpuku, whiri pāraharaha, whiri taurakeke, whiri iwituna, tātoru
2. (noun) wing.
3. (intransitive verb) frequently - throb, palpitate, flutter, quiver.
4. (noun) a winged form of neck pendant. Also known as pekapeka (Ngāpuhi).
5. (noun) a method of snaring birds.
