- Size
- To about 23 cm
- Snorkel or dive
- Snorkel and dive, shallow.
- Best season
- Year-round.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN, assessed 2010).
How to recognise it
An unmistakable pale-blue body with a black face, white throat, and a bright yellow dorsal fin; a scalpel-sharp spine sits either side of the tail base.
Behaviour in the wild
Grazes algae from reef tops, often in fast-moving feeding shoals; the tail spines are a defensive weapon, hence 'surgeonfish'.
Where to see it in the Maldives
Shallow reef flats and reef crests atoll-wide, a signature fish of Maldivian house reefs.
Visual field notes
See powder-blue surgeonfish from more than one angle.
One verified identification image is currently available.
01 · Field portrait · Species reference
PhotoH. ZellCC BY-SA 3.0
Field notes
The 'scalpels' at the base of the tail are modified scales sharp enough to cut — best admired, never handled.
Profile references
References are shown transparently; profile copy may also include editorial synthesis. Seasons and sightings vary with wild conditions.
