No photo available
Variegated lizardfish
Synodus variegatus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Variegated lizardfish
- Scientific
- Synodus variegatus
- Dhivehi
- Ala thandu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 40 cm (total length); commonly 30 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 121 m (usually 5 to 60 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A lizardfish whose colour varies from grey to red, with hourglass-shaped saddles along the side that may merge into a solid red band. It perches on coral and rock, often in pairs, and darts up to seize small fish with its needle-toothed mouth.
In the Maldives
FishBase (Maldives) gives ala thandu.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Synodus-variegatus.html
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=5398&GenusName=Synodus&SpeciesName=va
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Reef_Lizardfish_(6997542875).jpg
Dhivehi name source: FishBase common names (country: Maldives) give 'Ala thandu' (Latin script). FishBase also lists 'Sudung' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used. FLAG: single source.