English Name: Six-fingered threadfin
Family: POLYNEMIDAE
Local Name: Keyla
Order: Perciformes
Size: Common to 20 cm; max. 30 cm
Specimen: MRS/P0I 12/87
Distinctive Characters: First dorsal fin with 8 spines, second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 13 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 11 rays. Pectoral fin with 15 and 6 free filamentous rays. Body oblong and somewhat compressed. Snout projecting, mouth moderately large with small teeth. Upper lip absent, lower lip well developed. Scales small and ctenoid. Caudal fin forked with equal lobes.
Colour: Silvery with bronze lines following scale rows. Pectoral fins blackish. Pelvic fins dark in the middle. Small juveniles (4 cm) with 3 broad dark bars and black areas on all fins except pectorals.
Habitat and Biology: Occurs mainly on shallow sandy shores and estuaries. Feeds mainly on small crustaceans, fishes and bottom-living organisms.
Distribution: Indian Ocean to Hawaiian Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago.
Remarks: Polydactylus sexfilis is common on shallow sandy shores of Maldives. This species is sometimes described under the genus Polynemus.