Blackwedged butterflyfish
Chaetodon falcula
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Blackwedged butterflyfish
- Scientific
- Chaetodon falcula
- Dhivehi
- އަސްދާނު ބިބީAsdhaanu bibee
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 20 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 15 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A white to pale yellow butterflyfish with two dark wedge-shaped saddles across the back, a black eye bar, a black band at the base of the tail, and a yellow rear body. It lives in pairs or small groups along reef edges, often in currents, and feeds on small invertebrates. It is the Indian Ocean sibling of the Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives asdhaanu bibee.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Chaetodon-falcula.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=8014&GenusName=Chaetodon&SpeciesName=
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/އަސްދާނު_ބިބީ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Bep_chaetodon_falcula.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase (country: Maldives) gives only the general group name 'Dhon bibi'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'އަސްދާނު ބިބީ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Asdhaanu bibee' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FishBase also lists 'Galikokkamas', 'Handupholimas' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.