Cantherhines pullus
Orangespotted Filefish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Cantherhines
Cantherhines pullus (Orangespotted 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
Moderately deep bodied, with a deep groove between dorsal fins and an external spine on pelvic bone. Snout is slightly concave. Jaw teeth are acutely pointed; those in upper jaw are in two rows, with three teeth in outer row and two teeth in inner row, and those in lower jaw are in a single row of three teeth. Gill rakers on first arch number 34 to 46. Gill slit is located in front of pectoral fin base and is relatively long. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 30%–32%, snout length 26%–27%, eye diameter 6%–7%, pectoral fin length 12%–13%, body depth at origin of anal fin 40%– 43%. Pectoral fin usually has 12 to 14 rays. Second dorsal fin has 33 to 36 rays. Pelvic spine is short and stout, has denticles on ventral surface and spinules along both sides, and is not movable in an anteroposterior direction. Anal fin has 29 to 32 rays. Scales bear one to several spines, and spines are branched distally. Caudal peduncle lacks enlarged scales, but mature males have setose patch (scales bearing long and very slender spines) just anterior to caudal peduncle.
Color is variable but commonly dark olive brown, with two or more light stripes on body and small orange spots on side of head. Caudal peduncle has white spots on dorsal and ventral midlines.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic it occurs from Massachusetts and Bermuda to southeastern Brazil, including the northern and western Gulf of Mexico and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
northern and western Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Associated with reefs. Depth range not specified.
Reefs
Biology
Food consists of algae, sea grasses, sponges, tunicates, and bryozoans.
Maximum known size is 200 mm TL.
Found in shallow water and around coral and rocky reefs (Ref. 3790). Usually remains near the bottom, hiding among gorgonians and branching coral (Ref. 9710). Feeds on bottom growth, primarily sponge and algae, but stomach often contain tunicates, bryozoans and other sessile benthic invertebrates (Ref. 5521). The young are pelagic and highly important food items in the diet of large predaceous fishes such as tunas and billfishes (Ref. 3790). Generally considered as trash fish, rarely consumed (Ref. 3790).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-02-27. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Berry and Vogele 1961 (as Amanses pullus)
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
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.
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and J.-C. Quéro (1990) Monacanthidae. p. 1061-1066. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
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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