Forcepsfish
Forcipiger flavissimus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Forcepsfish
- Scientific
- Forcipiger flavissimus
- Dhivehi
- ތުން ބިބީThun bibee
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 22 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 145 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A bright yellow butterflyfish with a very long, thin snout, a black triangle covering the top of the head and a black spot on the anal fin near the tail. It uses its forceps-like snout to pick small crustaceans and the tube feet and tentacles of other invertebrates from crevices. It lives in pairs on outer reef slopes.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives thun bibee.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Forcipiger-flavissimus.html
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ތުން_ބިބީ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_mariposa_hocicona_(Forcipiger_flavissimus),_Anilao,_Fil
Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ތުން ބިބީ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Thun bibee' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.