Lattice soldierfish
Myripristis violacea
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Lattice soldierfish
- Scientific
- Myripristis violacea
- Dhivehi
- ވައިލެޓް ދަންބޮޑުVailet dhanbodu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 35 cm (total length); commonly 18 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 18 cm; max. 23 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A soldierfish with a silvery-violet sheen, scales on the back broadly rimmed in dark purple, an orange-red bar on the gill cover and orange-tipped fins. It lives in sheltered, coral-rich lagoons and channels, often near branching and plate corals. Like other soldierfish it can make sounds to warn and communicate.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name vailet dhanbodu (MRS 1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Myripristis-violacea.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=7309&GenusName=Myripristis&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ވައިލެޓް_ދަންބޮޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_soldado_(Myripristis_violacea),_Zanzíbar,_Tanzania,_202
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Vailet dhanbodu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Vailet dhanbodu'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ވައިލެޓް 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.