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.
