No photo available
Dotdash goatfish
Parupeneus barberinus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Dotdash goatfish
- Scientific
- Parupeneus barberinus
- Dhivehi
- Maa kalhuoh’
- Group
- Reef fish
- Family
- Mullidae (goatfishes)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 60 cm (total length); commonly 30 cm (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives common to 30 cm; max. 50 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 100 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A goatfish, pale reddish brown above and whitish below, with a dark stripe from the snout through the eye and a large black spot near the tail base. It digs in sand and rubble with its barbels and snout for worms and crustaceans, often followed by wrasses and jacks hoping to steal prey.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name maa kalhuoh (MRS 1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Parupeneus-barberinus.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Parupeneus_barberinus.JPG
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Maa kalhuoh’' (Latin form). FishBase also lists 'Kaluoh' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.