Spotcheek emperor
Lethrinus rubrioperculatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Spotcheek emperor
- Scientific
- Lethrinus rubrioperculatus
- Dhivehi
- ކަޅިހިKalhihi
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Lethrinidae (emperors)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 57 cm (fork length); commonly 30 cm; max. published weight 3.1 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 30 cm; max. 50 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 10 to 198 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
An olive-grey to brown emperor with scattered small black blotches, red lips and a red spot on the upper edge of the gill cover. It lives over sand and rubble on outer reef slopes, down to about 200 m, and feeds on crustaceans, fish, echinoderms and molluscs. It was only formally described in 1978, having long been mistaken for the adult of another species.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name kalhihi (MRS 1997). MRS calls it common and a good eating fish.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Lethrinus-rubrioperculatus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަށިތުން_ފިލޮޅު
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަޅިހި
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Lethrinus_rubrioperculatus_JNC1122_-_MNHN_2006-1325.JPG
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kalhihi' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަޅިހި' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. Dhivehi Wikipedia also has: ކަށިތުން ފިލޮޅު.