Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Elongate surgeonfish
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Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Elongate surgeonfish

Acanthurus mata

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

English
Elongate surgeonfish
Scientific
Acanthurus mata
Dhivehi
Kaalhu
Group
Reef fish
Family
Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes)
Maximum size
Up to about 50 cm (total length)
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 5 to 100 m (usually 5 to 45 m)
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2010

Description

A blue-grey surgeonfish with many fine blue lines on the body and two yellow bands behind the eye, reaching about 50 cm. Unlike most surgeonfish it feeds on zooplankton in schools in mid-water along steep slopes, often in turbid water.

Sources

  • fishbase.se /summary/Acanthurus-mata.html
  • fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=1255&GenusName=Acanthurus&SpeciesName
  • commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_cirujano_alargado_(Acanthurus_mata),_Nosy_Sakatia,_Mada

Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Kaalhu' (Latin script). FLAG: single source. FLAG: generic name for the group, not species-specific.