Hardyhead silverside
Atherinomorus lacunosus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Hardyhead silverside
- Scientific
- Atherinomorus lacunosus
- Dhivehi
- ހިތިބޯHithiboa
- Group
- Baitfish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 25 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 15 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 39 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2020
Description
A slim, translucent schooling fish with a greenish-grey back and a bright silver stripe along each side, edged above by a thin iridescent blue line. By day it gathers in dense, almost motionless shoals close to sandy beaches and reef edges; at night the shoals break up and the fish spread out to pick plankton from the water. These shoals are a magnet for predators, and jacks, needlefish and small tunas often patrol alongside them.
In the Maldives
Known in Dhivehi as hithiboa. One of two silversides that Maldivian pole-and-line fishermen sometimes use as live bait. MRS (1997) notes that tuna soon lose interest in it, apparently because of its tough scales and bony body, so it is a second-choice bait.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Atherinomorus-lacunosus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ހިތިބޯ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Hardyhead_Silverside_(Atherinomorus_lacunosus)_(49188239731
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Hithiboa' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ހިތިބޯ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Fitham' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.