Family : Monacanthidae (Filefishes)
Order : Tetraodontiformes  (puffers and filefishes)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Scrawled filefish
Fish Name : Aluterus scriptus
Max size : 110 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 9710); max. published weight: 2,500 g (Ref. 26340)
Environment : reef-associated ; depth range 3 - 120 m
Climate : subtropical; 46°N - 24°S
Global Importance : aquarium: commercial
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tm=3-4)Distribution : 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).
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 2-2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 43-50; Anal spines: 0-0; 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).
Biology : 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)
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : reports of ciguatera poisoning , Halstead, B.W., P.S. Auerbach and D.R. Campbell. 1990
Coordinator : Hutchins, Barry
Main Ref : Hutchins, J.B.. 1986. (Ref. 4421)

India country information
Common Names : Fathi-rondu
Status : native
Salinity : marine
Uses : no uses