No photo available
Foursaddle grouper
Epinephelus spilotoceps
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Foursaddle grouper
- Scientific
- Epinephelus spilotoceps
- Dhivehi
- އަސްދާނު ފާނަAsdhaan faana
- Maximum size
- Up to about 48 cm (total length); max. published weight 1.5 kg
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2017
Description
A grouper densely covered in close-set dark brown to reddish-brown polygonal spots separated by a white network, with three dark blotches along the back and one on the tail base. It lives on lagoon patch reefs, channel slopes and reef margins, usually shallower than 30 m. Very little has been published on its biology.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name asdhaan faana (MRS 1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Epinephelus-spilotoceps.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5837&GenusName=Epinephelus&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/އަސްދާނު_ފާނަ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Serranidae_-_Epinephelus_spilotoceps.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Asdhaan faana' (Latin script). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'އަސްދާނު ފާނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.