Elegant firefish
Nemateleotris decora
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Elegant firefish
- Scientific
- Nemateleotris decora
- Dhivehi
- ފަރި ދިދަފުންނަFan dhidha funna
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 9 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 6 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 25 to 100 m (usually 25 to 70 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A small dartfish with a pale head and body shading to deep purple towards the tail, violet on the snout and a long, orange-red to magenta first dorsal fin that it flicks continually. It hovers in pairs just above a burrow on deep reef slopes, usually below 25 m, picking plankton from the current, and darts into the hole at any sign of danger.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives fan dhidha funna, a name coined in MRS (1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Nemateleotris-decora.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6616&GenusName=Nemateleotris&SpeciesN
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ފަރި_ދިދަފުންނަ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Nemateleotris_decora.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Fan dhidha funna' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Dhidha funna'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ފަރި ދިދަފުންނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.