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Snake mackerel
Gempylus serpens
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Snake mackerel
- Scientific
- Gempylus serpens
- Dhivehi
- އަލި ތޮޅިAli tholhi
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1 m (standard length); commonly 60 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 1 m (standard length)
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean, near the surface and in mid-water, recorded from 0 to 600 m (usually 0 to 200 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2012
Description
A long, strongly flattened, uniformly dark brown fish with a large mouth full of fang-like teeth and two lateral lines. It lives in the open ocean, rising to the surface at night to hunt fish, squid and crustaceans, and is often attracted to lights.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name ali tholhi (MRS 1997). MRS records a specimen caught by longline about 30 miles east of Lhaviyani Atoll in 1988.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Gempylus-serpens.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/އަލި_ތޮޅި
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Gempylus_serpens.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Ali tholhi' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'އަލި ތޮޅި' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.