Indian gold-ring bristle-tooth
Ctenochaetus truncatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Indian gold-ring bristle-tooth
- Scientific
- Ctenochaetus truncatus
- Dhivehi
- ތިއްޖެހި ކާޅުThijjehi kaalhu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 16 cm (standard length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 18.5 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 21 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2010
Description
A small dark brown bristletooth surgeonfish covered in tiny pale blue to yellow dots, with a bright yellow ring around the eye; juveniles are completely yellow. It lives on sheltered reef crests and slopes among large corals. It is the Indian Ocean counterpart of the Pacific gold-ring bristletooth.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name thijjehi kaalhu (MRS 1997, recorded under the name C. strigosus).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Ctenochaetus-truncatus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ތިއްޖެހި_ކާޅު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Ctenochaetus_truncatus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Thijjehi kaalhu' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ތިއްޖެހި ކާޅު' (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.