Zigzag wrasse
Halichoeres scapularis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Zigzag wrasse
- Scientific
- Halichoeres scapularis
- Dhivehi
- ދޮން ހިކާDhon hikaa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Labridae (wrasses)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 20 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 20 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2008
Description
A small wrasse, olive to yellowish brown above and white below, with a black zigzag stripe running from the eye to the tail base; males are green with a pinkish zigzag. It lives over sand, rubble and seagrass in shallow lagoons rather than on coral, picking small crustaceans from the sand.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives dhon hikaa; FishBase (Maldives) gives only the general name hikaa.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Halichoeres-scapularis.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5633&GenusName=Halichoeres&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދޮން_ހިކާ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Halichoeres_scapularis_mâle.jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase (country: Maldives) gives only the general group name 'Hikaa'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދޮން ހިކާ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Dhon hikaa' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FishBase also lists 'Dong-hikkae', 'Donkevumas' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.