Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Shoulderbar soldierfish
No photo available
Photo: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)Historical illustration. Source: Own work; Commons file: Myripristis kuntee.jpg

Shoulderbar soldierfish

Myripristis kuntee

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

English
Shoulderbar soldierfish
Scientific
Myripristis kuntee
Dhivehi
ފަށްދެމި ދަންބޮޑުFahdhemi dhanbodu
Group
Reef fish
Family
Holocentridae (squirrelfishes and soldierfishes)
Maximum size
Up to about 26 cm (total length); commonly 16 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 16 cm; max. 20 cm
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 100 m
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015

Description

A light red soldierfish with relatively small scales, a broad reddish-brown bar from the top of the gill opening to the pectoral base, an orange-yellow spiny dorsal fin and white leading edges to the fins. It gathers in large groups by day among cavernous and plate-like corals and feeds on zooplankton at night.

In the Maldives

Dhivehi name fahdhemi dhanbodu (MRS 1997).

Sources

Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Fahdhemi dhanbodu' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ފަށްދެމި ދަންބޮޑު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. 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.