Squaretail coralgrouper
Plectropomus areolatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Squaretail coralgrouper
- Scientific
- Plectropomus areolatus
- Dhivehi
- އޮޅު ފާނަOlhu faana
- Maximum size
- Up to about 80 cm (total length)
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 20 m
- IUCN status
- VU · VulnerableVulnerable (VU), assessed 2016
Description
A robust coral grouper, olive to reddish brown covered with small dark-edged blue spots, with a squared-off tail edged in white. It lives in coral-rich lagoon and outer reefs and is most often seen in channels. It eats only fish. Before spawning around the full moon it gathers in aggregations at channel mouths, which leaves it vulnerable to overfishing; it is listed as Vulnerable.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name olhu faana (MRS 1997). Targeted in the Maldivian reef-fish fishery; spawning aggregations in atoll channels are a management concern.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Plectropomus-areolatus.html
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/އޮޅު_ފާނަ
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Squaretail_coral_grouper_(Plectropomus_areolatus)_(31785651
Dhivehi name source: Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'އޮޅު ފާނަ' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition). No published Latin-script form found; 'Olhu faana' is Pax's transliteration of the Thaana (Malé Latin conventions). FLAG: Latin form is a transliteration, not a published spelling.