Spotcheek cardinalfish
Fowleria punctulata
Name as used by FishBase. WoRMS gives Fowleria variegata as the accepted name. Kept the FishBase name so records match the FishBase checklist.
- English
- Spotcheek cardinalfish
- Scientific
- Fowleria punctulata
- Dhivehi
- ތިކިޖެހި ބޯދިThikijehi boadhi
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 9 cm (standard length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 6 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 40 to 80 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
A small, stocky reddish-brown cardinalfish with three or four rows of black spots along the sides, unspotted fins, a yellow eye and a white-ringed black eyespot on the gill cover. It is very cryptic, hiding in coral by day and rarely seen even at night.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name thikijehi boadhi (MRS 1997). WoRMS now treats this name as a synonym of F. variegata; FishBase keeps them separate.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Fowleria-punctulata.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ތިކިޖެހި_ބޯދި
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Thikijehi boadhi' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ތިކިޖެހި ބޯދި' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.