Scrawled Filefish

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Fishing Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, December 2015. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Fish caught off the Anglin’s Fishing Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, July 2019. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Two fish caught off the Channel 5 Bridge (MM 71.4), Florida Keys, Florida, December 2015. Length: 36 cm (14 inches) and 30 cm (12 inches) respectfully. Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Broward County, Florida, August 2021. Length: 41 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 50 cm (20 inches).

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Underwater photograph taken within the Meso-American Reef, Xcalak, Quintana Roo, January 2014. Photograph provided by Ryan Bowen, Portland, OR. Identification reconfirmed by Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Institute, Panama.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, September 2021. Photographs courtesy of Kevin Erwin, Seattle, Washington.

Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, January 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo,   www.Divezihuantanejo.com.

The Scrawled Filefish, Aluterus scriptus, is a member of the Filefish or Monacanthidae Family, that is also known at the Scribbled Leatherjack Filefish and in Mexico as lija trompa. Globally, there are four species in the genus Aluterus, and all four are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and two in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

The Scrawled Filefish has a very compressed elongated oval body. They are olive brown to gray in color with irregular blue spots, short lines, and black spots covering their head and body. They have the ability to change color to match their surroundings. Upon death, their coloring transitions into a bland and uniform tan. Their head has a strongly concave upper and lower profile and features a long pointed snout, a small centrally located upturned mouth, and small beady eyes located high on the back on the head. Their caudal fin base is deeper than it is long; the fins are relatively long and rounded with a ragged rear margin. Their dorsal fin has 2 spines, the first of which is long and slender and is located directly over the eyes; it can be locked in position by the second smaller spine. When threatened, the Scrawled Filefish will dive quickly into a crevice in the reef, wedge themselves into the shelter by erecting and locking their first dorsal spine and another spine located on their belly. This behavior is also used when they rest on the reef at night. They lack pelvic fins. Their body is covered with small scales and small hairs creating a coarse sandpaper-like texture.

The adult Scrawled Filefish are a benthic species that is found at depths up to 122 m (400 feet), and inhabit coral and rocky reefs; the juveniles are pelagic and found in and around floating debris at large distances from land. They are secretive fish that hide in caves. They are omnivorous and feed on algae, anemones, gorgonians, sponges, and tunicates. In turn, they are preyed upon by larger fish including Dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, and Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus. They reach a maximum of 1.1 m (3 feet 7 inches) in length and 2.5 kg (5 lbs 8 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 2.15 kg (4 lbs 11 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Pompano Beach, Florida in January 1998. They breed in groups consisting of 1 male and 2 to 5 females. The females lay demersal eggs in safe areas, such as depressions in the sand, and the eggs are then fertilized by the males. Both the males and the females will guard these fertilized eggs from predators. Upon hatching, the females will care for the young.

The Scrawled Filefish is a resident of all Mexican waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic Ocean they are found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean. In the Pacific they range from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, in the southern two thirds of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.  This is one of the very few species of fish that are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific waters of Mexico.

The Scrawled Filefish is easily confused with the Unicorn Filefish, Aluterus monoceros (convex upper and concave lower head profile, numerous blotches, straight caudal fin).

From a conservation perspective the Scawled Filefish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are considered to be game fish in some parts of the world but in Mexico they are rare and of limited value, thus normally a “catch and release.” They are reported to contain ciguatoxin making them a poor food choice. They are collected and sold for the aquarium trade at a modest level. As they are truly gorgeous when alive and a relatively shallow water slow-moving species, they are often the subject of underwater photographers.