FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 



110. Filefish (Monacanthus hispidus Linnaeus) 



295 



Jordan and Evermann, 1S96-1900, p. 1715. 



Description. — In this species the rear margin of the dorsal spine, which is 

 situated over the rear margin of the eye, is armed with a double series of barbs, but 

 the sides of the rounded caudal peduncle bear no spines. The soft dorsal (31 to 33 

 rays) originates behind the middle of the body, its first ray being much elongated 

 in adults and with a filamentous tip. Otherwise the fin is rounded in outline, 

 narrowing from the front to the rear. The anal (32 to 33 rays) is below the soft 

 dorsal, and of the same shape except that none of its rays are elongate. The caudal 

 fin is rounded. The pectorals are short, rounded, and situated below the gill open- 

 ing like those of triggerfishes. In the only specimen I have seen the fold of skin 

 that occupies the space between the end of the pelvic bone and the general belly 

 profile — the so-called "ventral flap" — is rounded in outline, not straight as in the 

 illustration, and it extends only slightly behind the tip of the spine. 



Xt: 



Fig. 135.— Filefish (Monacanthus hispidus) 



Color. — Green, varying from bright to olive. The back and sides of young 

 fish are mottled with irregular darker blotches but adults are plain colored. Dorsal 

 spine and caudal fin are green. The soft dorsal and anal fins are pale and translucent. 



Size. — Maximum length about 10 inches. 



General range — A tropical species common on the south Atlantic coast of the 

 United States and in the West Indies. It is known south to Brazil as well as from 

 the Canaries and Madeira in the eastern Atlantic and probably from the East 

 Indies. It is not uncommon as far north as Woods Hole. So far its northern 

 recorded limit has been St. Margarets Bay on the outer coast of Nova Scotia. 



Occurrence in the Gulf of Maine. — Odd specimens of this filefish have been 

 recorded from Hingham, Lynn, Nahant, and Boston Harbor in Massachusetts Bay 

 and from Cape Cod, all many years ago. It is only a stray north or east of Cape Cod. 

 1022T4— 25f 20 



