English Name: Samoan silverside
Family: ATHERINIDAE
Local Name: Thaavalha
Order: Atheriniformes
Size: Common to 7 cm; max. Il cm
Specimen: MRS/0026/86
Distinctive Characters: Premaxillary bone with long and slender ascending process. lateral process short and wide. Dentary bone highly elevated posteriorly. 2 1-25 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch. Pectora fin with 14-18 rays.
Colour: Greenish above, thin midlateral stripe and abdomen silvery. Usually upper surface of head dark. Fin bases dusky.
Habitat and Biology: Occurs in large schools near the shore during the day, moving out to open water to feed at night.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Remarks: Hvpoatherina temminckiii is occasionally used as bait. The Dhivehi name ’Keravalha’ is sometimes used by fishermen for small atherinids. Previously recorded as Al/enetta harnesi in the Catalogue of Fishes of the Maldives Vol. 1, page 24.