Blackfin squirrelfish
Neoniphon opercularis
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Blackfin squirrelfish
- Scientific
- Neoniphon opercularis
- Dhivehi
- ކަޅުކޮތަރި ރައިވެރިމަސްKalhu kothari raiverimas
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 35 cm (total length); commonly 23 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 23 cm; max. 32 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 silvery-gold squirrelfish with a dark red mark on each scale and a mostly black spiny dorsal fin with white base and tips, which it raises to startle predators. It shelters among the branches of large corals by day and hunts crabs and shrimps at night. The large spine on its gill cover is venomous.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name kalhu kothari raiverimas (MRS 1997). MRS notes it is the largest and perhaps the commonest Neoniphon in the Maldives.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Neoniphon-opercularis.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަޅުކޮތަރި_ރައިވެރިމަސް
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Neoniphon_opercularis.JPG
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kalhu kothari raiverimas' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަޅުކޮތަރި ރައިވެރިމަސް' (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.