Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Blacktip sardinella
No photo available
Photo: Ewen Le Moal (IFREMER, Délégation océan Indien (DOI), Département Ressources Biologiques et Environnement (RBE), F-97420 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Blacktip sardinella

Sardinella melanura

Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).

English
Blacktip sardinella
Scientific
Sardinella melanura
Dhivehi
No recorded Dhivehi name
Group
Baitfish
Family
Dorosomatidae (sardines and gizzard shads)
Maximum size
Up to about 20 cm (standard length); commonly 10 cm
Depth and habitat
Open water over reefs and the atoll shelf, recorded from 0 to 50 m
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2017

Description

A small schooling sardine with a silvery, moderately slender body and jet-black tips to the tail fin, which separate it from most related sardines. It lives in coastal and lagoon waters and is regarded as a hardy, effective tuna bait.

Sources

Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.