English Name: Brown-spotted sandperch
Family: PINGUIPEDIDAE
Local Name: Mushi thiki alathandu
Order: Perciformes
Size: Max. 20 cm
Specimen: MRS/0279/88
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 4 spines and 21 rays. Anal fin with I spine and 17 rays. Pectoral fin with 17 rays. 4 canines at front of lower jaw. Palatine teeth absent. Second and third dorsal spine longest.
Colour: Body whitish with 4 close-set longitudinal series of brown spots, those of lower row largest and vertically elongate, covering all of lower side. A white spot midposteriorly in caudal fin. Males with thin diagonal pale lines on cheek.
Habitat and Biology: Usually found on patches of rubble or pavement between corals. Feeds on benthic crustaceans and occasionally on fish.
Distribution: Maldives to Central Pacific.
Remarks: Parapercis millepunctata is the most common species of the genus at many localities. It is usually identified as P. cephalopunctata (Seale), but P. millepunctara is the valid earlier name.