No photo available
IllustrationFlashlight fish
Photoblepharon steinitzi
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Flashlight fish
- Scientific
- Photoblepharon steinitzi
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 11 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2019
Description
A small, dark brown to grey-black fish with a large light organ beneath each eye, filled with glowing bacteria, which it can cover and uncover to flash signals. It hides in deep caves by day and rises onto the reef at night, reaching about 11 cm.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Photoblepharon-steinitzi.html
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.