Blackside hawkfish
Paracirrhites forsteri
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Blackside hawkfish
- Scientific
- Paracirrhites forsteri
- Dhivehi
- ތިއްޖެހި ގާބޯThijjehi gaaboa
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Cirrhitidae (hawkfishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 22 cm (total length); commonly 18 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 14 cm: max. 22.5 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 35 m (usually 5 to 35 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A hawkfish with a yellowish body, a broad blackish stripe along the upper rear side and many small dark red spots on the head and front of the body; colour varies with age. It sits on the outermost branches of coral heads and darts out to catch small fish and crustaceans. Males keep harems of females.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name thijjehi gaaboa (MRS 1997). MRS calls it a common hawkfish on Maldivian reefs, often seen sitting on the tips of branching corals.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Paracirrhites-forsteri.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5952&GenusName=Paracirrhites&SpeciesN
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ތިއްޖެހި_ގާބޯ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_halcón_de_cabeza_moteada_(Paracirrhites_forsteri),_parq
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Thijjehi gaaboa' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) gives only the general group name 'Gaa boa'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ތިއްޖެހި ގާބޯ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form. FishBase also lists 'Boh' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. 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.