Doublespotted queenfish
Scomberoides lysan
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Doublespotted queenfish
- Scientific
- Scomberoides lysan
- Dhivehi
- ކަށިވާލިKashi vaali
- Group
- Jacks and trevallies
- Maximum size
- Up to about 1.1 m (total length); commonly 60 cm; max. published weight 11 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 70 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 100 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A slender, compressed queenfish, silvery grey with two rows of six to eight dusky blotches along the side and a dark tip to the dorsal fin. Adults hunt small fish over clear lagoons and outer reefs, usually alone. Juveniles have an unusual diet of scales and skin torn from other schooling fish. The dorsal and anal spines can give a painful wound.
In the Maldives
MRS (1997) records several Dhivehi names: kashi vaali ('spine queenfish'), hondeli fahaa vaali ('sprat-chasing queenfish') and eka vaali. It is caught fairly regularly on handlines near reefs.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Scomberoides-lysan.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ކަށިވާލި
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Scomberoides_lysan_by_NPS.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Kashi vaali, Hondeli fahaa vaali, Eka vaali' (Latin form). Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ކަށިވާލި' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.