Barred soapfish
Diploprion bifasciatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Barred soapfish
- Scientific
- Diploprion bifasciatus
- Dhivehi
- ހުރަސްގަޅި ލޮނދިމަސްHurasgalhi londhimas
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 25 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 100 m (usually 5 to 50 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A deep-bodied, compressed soapfish, usually bright yellow with two broad dark bars, one through the eye and one across the body. It hunts fish, swallowing surprisingly large prey whole. When stressed it releases a toxic skin secretion. It lives around caves and crevices on coastal reefs.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives hurasgalhi londhimas, a name coined in MRS (1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Diploprion-bifasciatus.html
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ހުރަސްގަޅި_ލޮނދިމަސް
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Diploprion_bifasciatus_442749075.png
Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ހުރަސްގަޅި ލޮނދިމަސް' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Hurasgalhi londhimas' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). 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. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.