Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Spiny waspfish
No photo available
Photo: Sir Francis Day / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (view on Wikimedia Commons)Historical illustration. Source: Fauna of British India (Fishes, Volumes 1 and 2) via www.archive.org; Commons file: Ablabys macracanthus Day.png

Spiny waspfish

Ablabys macracanthus

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Spiny waspfish
Scientific
Ablabys macracanthus
Dhivehi
No recorded Dhivehi name
Group
Reef fish
Family
Tetrarogidae (waspfishes)
Maximum size
Up to about 20 cm (total length)
Depth and habitat
Near the bottom and in the water column above it, recorded from 1 to 20 m
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023

Description

A waspfish with a tall, spiny dorsal fin that sways back and forth in the current, mimicking a dead leaf, reaching about 20 cm. It lives on muddy sand in sheltered water and has venomous spines.

Sources

Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.