Dogtooth tuna
Gymnosarda unicolor
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Dogtooth tuna
- Scientific
- Gymnosarda unicolor
- Dhivehi
- ވޮށި މަސްWoshimas
- Maximum size
- Up to about 2.5 m (fork length); commonly 1.9 m; max. published weight 131 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 1.1 m; max. 1.5 m
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 250 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2022
Description
A large, powerful tuna with a grey-blue back, silvery belly, a big mouth with large conical teeth and white tips to the second dorsal and anal fins. Unlike most tunas it lives around coral reefs, patrolling drop-offs and channels alone or in small groups and hunting fusiliers, scads and squid. It can reach about 2.5 m.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name voshimas (MRS 1997). MRS notes it is caught by trolling and handlining and a wide range of sizes is landed at the Malé fish market.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Gymnosarda-unicolor.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=106&GenusName=Gymnosarda&SpeciesName=
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ވޮށި_މަސް
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Casarte_ojón_(Gymnosarda_unicolor),_mar_Rojo,_Egipto,_2023-
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Woshimas' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Worhimas'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ވޮށި މަސް' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Vori-kannali' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.