English Name: Faintstripe cardinalfish
Family: APOGONIDAE
LocalName: Ehrongu boadhi
Order: Perciformes
Size: Common to7cm; max. 10cm
Specimen: MRS/0203/88
Distinctive Characters: First dorsal fin with 7 spines, second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 9 rays. Anal fin with 2 spines and 6 rays. Preopercle edge serrate. Supramaxilla absent.
Colour: Pale brown, with a distinct black stripe running from the snout through the eye to the tail. Leading edges of first dorsal and caudal fins black. No spot on caudal fin.
Habitat and Biology: A coral reef species, commonest in shallow lagoons which contain coral outcrops.
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
Remarks: Apogon abrogramma is a common species in the Maldives. It belongs to the subgenus Pristiapogon which contains several similar looking species. Cardinal fishes are one of few marine fish families in whichoral brooding is found.