Diet

• Omnivorous feeder that grazes on algae and seagrasses and also consumes hydrozoans, gorgonians, colonial anemones, and tunicates.

• It forages among reef organisms and benthic growth rather than relying exclusively on plant material.

Range

• Circumtropical, occurring in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

• In the eastern Pacific, it ranges from the southern Gulf of California south to Ecuador, including several offshore islands.

• It occurs in the Zihuatanejo area, where it is known from local reef habitat.

Habitat

• Associated with coral and rocky reefs, lagoons, reef slopes, and outer reef drop-offs.

• Adults are often found around deeper coastal slopes and reef drop-offs, commonly around 20 metres, with a recorded depth range of approximately 0–120 metres.

• Juveniles may occur around floating vegetation and other drifting objects in open water.

Description

• Large, elongated and strongly laterally compressed filefish with a long, pointed snout and a small, upturned mouth.

• Usually olive-brown to grey, covered with irregular bright blue lines and spots and numerous small black spots, giving it its characteristic “scrawled” appearance.

• The first dorsal spine is long, slender and erectile, while the second spine is greatly reduced; the pelvic spine is rudimentary or absent.

• The caudal fin is rounded and unusually long, sometimes exceeding the length of the snout.

• The body is covered with extremely small, hair-like scales that give the skin a rough, sandpaper-like texture.

• Can reach about 110 cm in total length, making it one of the largest filefishes.