522 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



2. 



3. 



Dorsal profile of head in front of the eyes is straight, or only very slightly concave; there are no thorns on the sides of 



the caudal peduncle Filefish (Monacanthus hispidus), p. 522 



Dorsal profile of head in front of the eyes is conspicuously concave; there are about 6 stout thorns pointing forward 



on each side of the caudal peduncle Filefish (Monacanthus ciliatus) , p. 523 



Dorsal fin with about 34 to 38 soft rays; anal with 36 to 41 rays; also, in small specimens, the caudal fin is more than 



one-half as long as the body Orange filefish (Alutera schoepfii), p. 524 



Dorsal fin with about 44 to 48 soft rays; anal with 47 to 52 rays; also, in small specimens, the caudal fin is less than 



one-half as long as the body Unicornfish (Alutera scripta), p. 525 



Filefish Monacanthus hispidus (Linnaeus) 1766 



Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1715. 



Description.- — In this species the rear edge of the 

 dorsal spine, which is situated over the rear edge 

 of the eye, is armed with a double series of barbs, 

 but the sides of the rounded caudal peduncle do 

 not bear any spines. The point of origin of the 

 soft dorsal fin (32 to 34 rays) is behind the middle 

 of the body, while the first soft dorsal ray often is 

 much prolonged in adults and with a filamentous 

 tip (young 1 to 2 inches long lack this filamentous 

 ray.) Otherwise the fin is rounded in outline, 

 narrowing from the front to the rear. The anal 

 fin (31 to 34 rays) stands below the soft dorsal, 

 and is of the same shape except that none of its 

 rays are prolonged. The caudal fin is rounded. 

 The pectorals are short, rounded, and situated 

 lower than the gill openings, like those of trigger- 

 fishes. 



Color. — Greenish, olive, or brownish. The back 

 and sides of young fish are mottled with irregular 

 darker blotches but adults are plain colored. The 

 dorsal spine and the caudal fin are green. The 

 soft dorsal fin and the anal fin are pale and 

 translucent. 



Size. — Maximum length about 10 inches. 



General range. — This is a tropical species, com- 

 mon along the south Atlantic Coast of the United 

 States and among the West Indies; also around 

 the Canaries and Madeira in the eastern Atlantic, 

 and represented in East Indian waters by a fish 

 that does not seem to be distinguishable from it 

 in any way. In the western side of the Atlantic 

 it is known as far south as Brazil, has been taken 

 from time to time as far north as Woods Hole, and 

 has been recorded from St. Margaret Bay and 

 from Halifax on the outer coast of Nova Scotia. 62 



" The only recent Nova Scotian record that has come to our notice is of one 

 taken in Halifax Harbor in the autumn of 1928 (Leim, Proc. Nova Scotian 

 Inst. Sci., vol. 17, Pt. 4, 1930, p. 46). 











Figure 276. — Filefish (Monacanthus hispidus). From Jordan and Evermann. Drawing by W. S. Haines. 



