No photo available
Flat needlefish
Ablennes hians
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Flat needlefish
- Scientific
- Ablennes hians
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Family
- Belonidae (needlefishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1.4 m (total length); commonly 70 cm; max. published weight 4.8 kg
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 3 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2012
Description
A long, flattened needlefish, dark blue above and silvery below with 12 to 14 dark vertical bars and a black lobe on the rear of the dorsal fin, reaching about 1.4 m. It cruises near the surface around islands, often in schools, and feeds on small fish.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Ablennes-hians.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Needlefish.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.