Comet
Calloplesiops altivelis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Comet
- Scientific
- Calloplesiops altivelis
- Dhivehi
- ދުންތަރި މަސްDhunthari mas
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Plesiopidae (longfins)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 20 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 16 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 3 to 110 m (usually 3 to 45 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2019
Description
A secretive fish with a black body covered in small bluish-white spots and huge, rounded fins, with a prominent white-ringed eyespot at the rear of the dorsal fin. When threatened, it pokes its head into a hole and displays its rear end, which, with the eyespot, resembles the head of a moray eel. It hides in caves and crevices by day and hunts small fish and shrimps at night.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name dhunthari mas (MRS 1997). MRS notes it is fairly common on protected Maldivian reefs but rarely seen because of its secretive habits.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Calloplesiops-altivelis.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދުންތަރި_މަސް
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_cometa_(Calloplesiops_altivelis),_Anilao,_Filipinas,_20
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Dhunthari mas' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދުންތަރި މަސް' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.