Honeycomb filefish
Cantherhines pardalis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Honeycomb filefish
- Scientific
- Cantherhines pardalis
- Dhivehi
- ދާގަނޑު ފަތިރޮނޑުDhaagandu fathirondu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 25 cm (total length); commonly 15 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 21 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 20 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A filefish that can switch between mottled grey-brown, dark brown or a grey honeycomb of close-set polygonal spots, always with a small white spot behind the rear of the soft dorsal fin. It is wary and lives alone on outer slopes and in seagrass and seaweed beds.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name dhaagandu fathirondu (MRS 1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Cantherhines-pardalis.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދާގަނޑު_ފަތިރޮނޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_Lija_(Cantherhines_pardalis),_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-0
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Dhaagandu fathirondu' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދާގަނޑު ފަތިރޮނޑު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FLAG: the source states no traditional name was recorded and this descriptive name was coined for the book; it is not an established fishermen's name.