Aluterus scriptus
Scrawled Filefish
NS
GNR
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Aluterus
Aluterus scriptus (Scrawled Filefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Elliptical in profile, no pelvic spine, deep caudal peduncle; snout slightly upturned, dorsal profile of head concave; jaw teeth acutely pointed, upper jaw with 3 outer and 2 inner teeth, lower jaw with 3 teeth in a single row; head slightly convex below chin; gill rakers on first arch 21-27; gill slit very oblique, in front of and partially above pectoral fin base, about twice the length of pectoral fin base; head length 29%-34% SL, snout length 22%-29% SL, eye diameter 5%-9% SL, body depth at origin of anal fin 22%-35% SL; pectoral fin with 13-15 (usually 14) rays; second dorsal fin with 43-49 rays; pelvic spine rudimentary or absent; anal fin with 46-52 rays; caudal peduncle deeper than long, lacking enlarged scales
Light bluish to olive or brown, with bluish green spots and lines and small black spots scattered on head and body
Distribution
Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Brazil, including the entire Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas, shallow water
Biology
Algae, sea grasses, hydrozoans, gorgonian corals, sea anemones, and tunicates
910 mm TL
Inhabit lagoon and seaward reefs (Ref. 9710). Occasionally are seen under floating objects (Ref. 1602). Juveniles may travel with weed rafts in open ocean for a long time and reaching a large size. Adults are usually seen along deep coastal slopes or outer reef drop-offs in about 20 meters depth (Ref. 48637). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Feed on algae, seagrass, hydrozoans, gorgonians, colonial anemones, and tunicates. Caught at the surface using a hand net (Ref. 26165).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-02-24. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm=3-4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Berry and Vogele 1961
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Hutchins 1986
Hutchins 2001b
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Matsuura 2002c
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Myers, R.F. (1991) Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene (1990) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 506 p.
Hutchins, J.B. (1986) Monacanthidae. p. 882-887. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Willoughby, S., J.D. Neilson and C. Taylor (1999) The depth distribution of exploited reef fish populations off the south and west coasts of Barbados. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish Inst. 45:57-68.
Dominici-Arosemena, A. and M. Wolff (2005) Reef fish community structure in Bocas del Toro (Caribbean, Panamá): Gradients in habitat complexity and exposure. Caribbean J. Sci. 41(3):613-637.
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