🇲🇻Animals recorded in the Maldives

Which animals have been recorded in the Maldives? 5,970 occurrence records cover 1,200+ species. The most-recorded are listed below, with what the record pattern says about each one. 206 is the most-recorded animal class; the leading species records include Lineated Butterflyfish, Regal angelfish, Blacktip Reef Shark.

• 5,970 records
• 1,200+ species
• 39 classes

Country evidence passport

The most-recorded species in this dataset include Lineated Butterflyfish, Regal angelfish, Blacktip Reef Shark. Use the country list as evidence of recorded wildlife, then open a species to compare its records across other countries and months. It is not a complete habitat or population census.

Most-recorded animals in the Maldives

	Animal	Group	Records
	Lineated Butterflyfish Chaetodon trifasciatus	— Chaetodontidae	45
	Regal angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus	— Pomacanthidae	36
	Blacktip Reef Shark Carcharhinus melanopterus	Elasmobranchii Carcharhinidae	35
	Checkerboard wrasse Halichoeres hortulanus	— Labridae	34
	Blue-spotted Grouper Cephalopholis argus	— Serranidae	33
	Twinspot damselfish Chrysiptera biocellata	— Pomacentridae	32
	Striped Triggerfish Balistapus undulatus	— Balistidae	32
	Convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus	— Acanthuridae	31
	Powderblue surgeonfish Acanthurus leucosternon	— Acanthuridae	30
	Striped Surgeonfish Acanthurus lineatus	— Acanthuridae	29
	Striated surgeonfish Ctenochaetus striatus	— Acanthuridae	28
	Maldive anemonefish Amphiprion nigripes	— Pomacentridae	26
	Clark's anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii	— Pomacentridae	26
	Bluefin trevally Caranx melampygus	— Carangidae	25
	Variable agama Calotes versicolor	Squamata Agamidae	25
	Bluestreak cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus	— Labridae	24
	Threadfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon auriga	— Chaetodontidae	23
	Ember parrotfish Scarus rubroviolaceus	— Scaridae	23
	Blotcheye Soldierfish Myripristis murdjan	— Holocentridae	22
	Zigzag wrasse Halichoeres scapularis	— Labridae	22
	Sixbar wrasse Thalassoma hardwicke	— Labridae	22
	Yellowhead Butterflyfish Chaetodon xanthocephalus	— Chaetodontidae	22
	Giant Moray Gymnothorax javanicus	— Muraenidae	22
	White-banded triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus	— Balistidae	22
	Moorish idol Zanclus cornutus	— Zanclidae	20
	Oriental sweetlips Plectorhinchus vittatus	— Haemulidae	20
	Blackeye thicklip Hemigymnus melapterus	— Labridae	20
	Birdled parrotfish Scarus frenatus	— Scaridae	20
	jewel damsel Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus	— Pomacentridae	20
	Chevroned Butterflyfish Chaetodon trifascialis	— Chaetodontidae	20
	Multipore Sea Star Linckia multifora	Asteroidea Ophidiasteridae	20
	Bluetop Dascyllus Dascyllus carneus	— Pomacentridae	20
	Golden Chromis Chromis ternatensis	— Pomacentridae	20
	hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata	Testudines Cheloniidae	20
	Giant Jack Caranx ignobilis	— Carangidae	19
	Checkerboard wrasse Gomphosus caeruleus	— Labridae	19
	Steephead parrotfish Chlorurus strongylocephalus	— Scaridae	18
	Redstriped Butterflyfish Chaetodon lunula	— Chaetodontidae	18
	Whitetail Damselfish Dascyllus aruanus	— Pomacentridae	18
	Variegated Lizardfish Synodus variegatus	— Synodontidae	18
	shortnosed unicornfish Naso brevirostris	— Acanthuridae	18
	Indian Flying Fox Pteropus medius	Mammalia Pteropodidae	17
	Honeycomb Grouper Epinephelus merra	— Serranidae	16
	saddled butterflyfish Chaetodon falcula	— Chaetodontidae	16
	Blackstreak Surgeonfish Acanthurus nigricauda	— Acanthuridae	16
	Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris	Mammalia Delphinidae	16
	Crown of thorns starfish Acanthaster planci	Asteroidea Acanthasteridae	15
	Tricoloured Fusilier Pterocaesio tile	— Caesionidae	15
	Sling-jaw wrasse Epibulus insidiator	— Labridae	15
	Dusky wrasse Halichoeres marginatus	— Labridae	15
	Rainbow Wrasse Thalassoma amblycephalum	— Labridae	15
	Reticulated Damsel Pomacentrus trichrourus	— Pomacentridae	15
	Yellowhead Moray Gymnothorax rueppelliae	— Muraenidae	15
	Redtooth Triggerfish Odonus niger	— Balistidae	15
	Black-saddled Toby Canthigaster valentini	— Tetraodontidae	15
	Yellow boxfish Ostracion cubicus	— Ostraciidae	15
	Amorphoidea coimbatorensis	Insecta Curculionidae	15
	Crown squirrelfish Sargocentron diadema	— Holocentridae	14
	Moon wrasse Thalassoma lunare	— Labridae	14
	Tripletail wrasse Cheilinus trilobatus	— Labridae	14