Green birdmouth wrasse
Gomphosus caeruleus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Green birdmouth wrasse
- Scientific
- Gomphosus caeruleus
- Dhivehi
- ތެޔޮފުޅި ހިކާTheyofulhi hikaa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Labridae (wrasses)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 32 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 35 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2008
Description
A wrasse with a long, curved, tube-like snout that it uses to probe crevices for small invertebrates. Males are deep blue-green and females are yellowish with dark speckles and a pale head. It swims restlessly with its pectoral fins over coral-rich reefs. It is the Indian Ocean species; a sibling replaces it in the Pacific.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives theyofulhi hikaa.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Gomphosus-caeruleus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=7744&GenusName=Gomphosus&SpeciesName=
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Gomphosus_caeruleus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Theyofulhi hikaa' (Latin script). Thaana 'ތެޔޮފުޅި ހިކާ' taken from the Dhivehi Wikipedia list of MRS 1997 species (no article); linked to this species by matching its transliteration to the Latin form 'Theyofulhi hikaa'. FishBase also lists 'Hibbaruhikkae' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: Thaana linked by transliteration match; confirm.