Fire goby
Nemateleotris magnifica
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Fire goby
- Scientific
- Nemateleotris magnifica
- Dhivehi
- ދިދަފުންނަDhidha funna
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 9 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 8 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 70 m (usually 6 to 28 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023
Description
A small dartfish with a whitish front half that shades to bright red at the rear and a tall, pennant-like first dorsal fin. It hovers in pairs above a burrow on upper outer slopes and in sandy patches, facing into the current to feed on plankton, and vanishes into the hole when alarmed. It lives shallower than the elegant firefish.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi Wikipedia (MRS-derived) gives dhidha funna, a name coined in MRS (1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Nemateleotris-magnifica.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6629&GenusName=Nemateleotris&SpeciesN
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދިދަފުންނަ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Fire_dartfish_(Nemateleotris_magnifica)_(43372442502).jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Dhidha funna' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Dhidha funna'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދިދަފުންނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.