Red-toothed triggerfish
Odonus niger
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Red-toothed triggerfish
- Scientific
- Odonus niger
- Dhivehi
- ވާލަން ރޮނޑުVaalan rondu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 50 cm (total length); commonly 30 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 40 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 5 to 110 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2022
Description
A deep blue to purplish triggerfish with red teeth, a green tinge on the head and a lyre-shaped tail with long streaming lobes. Large groups hover above current-swept reef slopes and in channels, picking zooplankton from the water. When disturbed, or at night, each fish dives into a crevice, often leaving only the tips of its tail showing.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name vaalan rondu (MRS 1997). MRS suggests it is probably the commonest Maldivian triggerfish.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Odonus-niger.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=1311&GenusName=Odonus&SpeciesName=nig
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ވާލަން_ރޮނޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Redtooth_triggerfish_(Odonus_niger)_(27583707738).jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Vaalan rondu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Vaalan rondu'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ވާލަން ރޮނޑު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Nagudigu-kalihi' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.