Coral hind
Cephalopholis miniata
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Coral hind
- Scientific
- Cephalopholis miniata
- Dhivehi
- ކޮވެލި ފާނަKoveli faana
- Maximum size
- Up to about 50 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 2 to 150 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2017
Description
A brilliant orange-red to reddish-brown grouper covered in small bright blue spots, with blue-edged fins; it can switch on a pattern of dark oblique bars. It prefers clear, exposed reefs, where it hunts small fish, especially anthias, and some crustaceans. Males keep harems of several females, each defending part of the shared territory. It is one of the most familiar groupers to divers across the Indo-Pacific.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives koveli faana; FishBase lists raiy faana. Very common on Maldivian reefs, often perched among anthias swarms on reef walls and pinnacles (thila).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Cephalopholis-miniata.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6450&GenusName=Cephalopholis&SpeciesN
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކޮވެލި_ފާނަ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Cierva_coral_(Cephalopholis_miniata),_parque_nacional_Ras_M
Dhivehi name source: FishBase (country: Maldives) gives a different name: 'Raiy faana'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކޮވެލި ފާނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Koveli faana' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FishBase also lists 'Sikkifana' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: sources disagree; needs a Dhivehi speaker. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.