Blue green damselfish
Chromis viridis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Blue green damselfish
- Scientific
- Chromis viridis
- Dhivehi
- ފުށް ނިލަމެހިNilamehi
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 10 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 20 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2021
Description
A small, iridescent blue-green damselfish that forms clouds above thickets of branching Acropora coral in lagoons and on reef flats, diving into the branches when threatened. It feeds on plankton. Males prepare nests on sand or rubble where several females lay eggs, and the male guards and fans them.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives nilamehi.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Chromis-viridis.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5679&GenusName=Chromis&SpeciesName=vi
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Chromis_viridis_2011.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Nilamehi' (Latin script). Thaana 'ފުށް ނިލަމެހި' taken from the Dhivehi Wikipedia list of MRS 1997 species (no article); linked to this species by matching its transliteration to the Latin form 'Nilamehi'. FLAG: Thaana linked by transliteration match; confirm.