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Cheeklined wrasse
Oxycheilinus digramma
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Cheeklined wrasse
- Scientific
- Oxycheilinus digramma
- Dhivehi
- Hikaa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Labridae (wrasses)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 40 cm (standard length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 3 to 60 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A wrasse with a pointed snout, a greenish to purplish body and many red lines across the cheek, reaching about 40 cm. It lives alone in coral-rich areas and often swims with goatfish to ambush the small animals they disturb.
In the Maldives
FishBase (Maldives) gives only the general name hikaa.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Oxycheilinus-digramma.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5599&GenusName=Oxycheilinus&SpeciesNa
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Barbanegra_rayado_(Oxycheilinus_digramma),_Anilao,_Filipina
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Hikaa' (Latin script). FLAG: single source. FLAG: generic name for the group, not species-specific.