Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Barred thicklip
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Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Barred thicklip

Hemigymnus fasciatus

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Barred thicklip
Scientific
Hemigymnus fasciatus
Dhivehi
Hikaa
Group
Reef fish
Family
Labridae (wrasses)
Maximum size
Up to about 30 cm (total length)
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 25 m
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2008

Description

A wrasse with thick fleshy lips and a body crossed by alternating broad black and narrow white bars, with a greenish head marked by pink-edged blue lines. It takes mouthfuls of sand, filters out small invertebrates and spits out the grit. Juveniles hide among branching corals, while adults swim openly over the reef.

In the Maldives

FishBase (Maldives) gives only the general name hikaa.

Sources

  • fishbase.se /summary/Hemigymnus-fasciatus.html
  • fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5635&GenusName=Hemigymnus&SpeciesName
  • commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Lábrido_(Hemigymnus_fasciatus),_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-

Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Hikaa' (Latin script). FLAG: single source. FLAG: generic name for the group, not species-specific.