Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

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Blue-barred parrotfish
No photo available
Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)

Blue-barred parrotfish

Scarus ghobban

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

English
Blue-barred parrotfish
Scientific
Scarus ghobban
Dhivehi
Noo landaa
Group
Reef fish
Family
Scaridae (parrotfishes; now often placed in Labridae)
Maximum size
Up to about 75 cm (total length); commonly 30 cm
Depth and habitat
Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 1 to 90 m; also enters brackish water
IUCN status
LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2009

Description

A large parrotfish; females are yellowish with five irregular blue bars, and males are blue-green with pink-edged scales. It grazes on algae on lagoon and seaward slopes, often at around 10 m, and juveniles live inshore in groups.

In the Maldives

FishBase (Maldives) gives noo landaa. Parrotfish have been protected in the Maldives since 2020.

Sources

  • fishbase.se /summary/Scarus-ghobban.html
  • fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5548&GenusName=Scarus&SpeciesName=gho
  • commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Loro_barbazul_(Scarus_ghobban),_La_Paz,_Baja_California,_Mé

Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Noo landaa' (Latin script). FishBase also lists 'Landae' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: single source.