Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Greasy grouper
No photo available
Photo: Jerome Huet (IFREMER, Délégation océan Indien (DOI), Département Ressources Biologiques et Environnement (RBE), F-97420 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Greasy grouper

Epinephelus tauvina

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

English
Greasy grouper
Scientific
Epinephelus tauvina
Dhivehi
ލޮނދި ފާނަLondhi faana
Group
Groupers and snappers
Family
Epinephelidae (groupers; formerly in Serranidae)
Maximum size
Up to about 1 m (total length); commonly 90 cm
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 300 m
IUCN status
DD · Data DeficientData Deficient (DD), assessed 2016

Description

A large grouper, pale greenish grey to brown with round orange-red to dark brown spots, often with a black blotch at the base of the last dorsal spines. Adults live in clear coral reefs and feed almost entirely on fish; juveniles are found on reef flats and in tide pools. It can reach about 1 m.

In the Maldives

Dhivehi name londhi faana (MRS 1997).

Sources

Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ލޮނދި ފާނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Londhi faana' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FishBase also lists 'Gaudarufana' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.