Marine Life

Snubnose pompano

Rindha vaali

Trachinotus blochii

Trachinotus blochii is not very common, but it can occasionally be caught by hand line and is sometimes seen in small groups along the outer reefs by divers. The Dhivehi word "rindha" means mussel and refers to the oval-shaped bone found just under the skin at the nape of the "neck".

Details

§ 01

size: Max. 80 cm
color: Silver, but often washed with golden-orange, especially in larger individuals. Anal fin dusky orange, and lobe with a brownish anterior margin.
order: Perciformes
family: Carangidae
image url: https://assets.explore.mv/fishes/trachinotus-blochii.png
habitat and biology: This species inhabits coral and rocky reefs, as well as shallow coastal waters, at depths ranging from 2 to 20 meters. Its diet consists mainly of mollusks and hermit crabs, which it crushes with its powerful pharyngeal plates.
distinctive characters: The first dorsal fin has six spines, the second dorsal fin has one spine and eighteen to twenty rays, the anal fin has two detached spines followed by one spine and sixteen to eighteen rays, the body is oval and compressed, the tongue is toothless, the predorsal bone is oval-shaped, and the profile of the snout is broadly rounded with no scutes.