Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Tetraodontiformes (Puffers and filefishes) > Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Etymology: Aluterus: Name from Greek meaning not free or detached, referring to the pelvis that does not form a spiny project (as it does in triggerfish) (R. Chandler, pers. Comm. 10/2014)..

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 120 m (Ref. 36484), usually 3 - 20 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical, preferred ?; 46°N - 24°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumtropical. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil (Ref. 7251). Eastern Atlantic: St. Paul's Rocks (Ref. 13121), Cape Verde and Ascension Island (Ref. 3592); São Tomé Island (Ref. 34088); South Africa (Ref. 4421). Pacific Ocean: southern Japan to the southern Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia and Easter Island (Ref. 37816). In the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Colombia (Ref. 9318).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 110 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710); common length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450); max. published weight: 2.5 kg (Ref. 26340)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 43-50; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 46 - 52. Snout concave (Ref. 1602); olive brown to grey in color, juveniles may be yellowish brown with dark spots (Ref. 4421). Elongate, strongly compressed filefish; tan with blue lines and spots. Caudal fin rounded (Ref. 26938) and long (Ref. 13442). Gill opening oblique, pelvic terminus rudimentary or absent; body and head with scattered small black spots (Ref. 13442).

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Hutchins, Barry | Collaborators

Hutchins, J.B., 1986. Monacanthidae. p. 882-887. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4421)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)

Human uses

Gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial

FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Aluterus scriptus (Osbeck, 1765)