What is "matuku"

Matuku may refer to:

• Matuku (genus), monotypic genus of a Miocene heron from New Zealand
• Matuku Island, Fiji
• Matuku (Tonga)
• Matuku-tangotango, monster in Māori mythology
• Māori language name for the Australasian bittern

Matuku is a tiny island in Lulunga, a part of Haapai in Tonga. It is easily reached by outboard motorboat from the neighbouring hub of Haafeva and is on the course from there to the culturally important island of Kotu.

The main village is on the northwest side. It has a government primary school. A wharf is constructed on the east side, but it is never used.

Category:Islands of Tonga Category:Haʻapai

Matuku otagoense, also referred to as the Saint Bathans heron, is an extinct genus and species of heron from the Early Miocene of New Zealand. It was described from fossil material collected in 2007 from the Saint Bathans Fauna of the Bannockburn Formation in Otago, South Island. It was a contemporary of the much smaller Saint Bathans bittern, remains of which have been found in the same sediments. The genus name Matuku is the term for “heron” or "bittern" in the Māori language. The specific epithet is a latinisation of the name of the Otago region where the descriptive material was collected.