Blackflag sandperch
Parapercis signata
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Blackflag sandperch
- Scientific
- Parapercis signata
- Dhivehi
- ކަޅުކޮތަރި އަލަތަނޑުKalhu kothari alathandu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 13 cm (total length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 13 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats (usually 30 to 35 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009
Description
A small sandperch with a black spiny dorsal fin edged in red, short dusky bars on the back and broad orange bars on the lower side. It lives on rubble and sand near reefs at about 30 to 35 m and feeds on small shrimps and fish.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name kalhu kothari alathandu (MRS 1997). FishBase notes it is known only from the Maldives in the western Indian Ocean; MRS notes divers rarely see it because it lives deep.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Parapercis-signata.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=25376&GenusName=Parapercis&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަޅުކޮތަރި_އަލަތަނޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Maldivian_Sandperch,_Alifu_Dhaalu_Atoll,_Maldives_imported_
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kalhu kothari alathandu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Alathandu'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަޅުކޮތަރި އަލަތަނޑު' (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.