Shadowfin soldierfish
Myripristis adusta
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Shadowfin soldierfish
- Scientific
- Myripristis adusta
- Dhivehi
- ހިޔަނި ދަންބޮޑުHiyani dhanbodu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 35 cm (total length); commonly 25 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 25 cm; max. 32 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
The largest soldierfish, reaching about 35 cm: pale salmon pink with dark-edged scales on the back, a dark head and broad black edges to the median fins. It hides in caves and under ledges on drop-offs and channel slopes by day and feeds on large zooplankton such as crab larvae at night.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name hiyani dhanbodu (MRS 1997). MRS notes it is common in the Maldives and easy to identify by its size and colouring.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Myripristis-adusta.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6506&GenusName=Myripristis&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ހިޔަނި_ދަންބޮޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Holocentridae_-_Myripristis_adusta.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Hiyani dhanbodu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) gives a different name: 'Loabodu bureki'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ހިޔަނި ދަންބޮޑު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Lofodubarihi' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: sources disagree; needs a Dhivehi speaker. FLAG: the source states no traditional name was recorded and this descriptive name was coined for the book; it is not an established fishermen's name.