Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Bristlemouth
No photo available
Illustration
Illustration: Homefront / Abacus AI, © Homefront AuctionsOriginal illustration based on published descriptions

Bristlemouth

Cyclothone alba

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Bristlemouth
Scientific
Cyclothone alba
Dhivehi
No recorded Dhivehi name
Group
Deep-water fish
Family
Gonostomatidae (bristlemouths)
Maximum size
Up to about 5.6 cm (standard length)
Depth and habitat
Deep open water, recorded from 25 to 4938 m (usually 300 to 800 m)
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2012

Description

A tiny, slender bristlemouth, mostly pale, reaching about 6 cm. Bristlemouths are among the most numerous vertebrates on Earth; this one lives in the deep open ocean, mostly at 300 to 800 m.

Sources

Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.