English Name: Giant sweetlips
Family: HAEMULIDAE
Local Name: Maa guruva
Order: Perciformes
Size: Max. 1 m
Specimen: MRS/P030l/88
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 13 spines and 18-19 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 7 rays. Pectoral fin 17 rays. Lips greatly enlarged. Caudal fin slightly emarginate.
Colour: Adults dark grey with numerous pale spots and short irregular lines. Usually a broad diffused pale bar just behind pectoral fins, extending onto abdomen. Soft portion of dorsal fin and lobes of caudal fin with large black areas. Anal, pelvic and pectoral fin black or partially black.
Habitat and Biology: Usually seen over reef flats and rubble slopes to depths between 8-50 m. Roams in loose aggregations.
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
Remarks: Plectorhinchus albovittatus is the largest species of this family. It is not a particular common species in the Maldives with few records of its occurence. P. obscurum (Gunther) and P. harrawayi (Smith) are synonyms