O'ili

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

barred filefish                       Cantherhines dumerili   

Scrawled and Scribbled

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

The scrawled or scribbled filefish (Aluterus scriptus) is another fish with intricate markings. It can color-phase from a light blue cast to the brownish-yellow hue shown here,

The Three-Named Fish

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

This past Saturday I saw this odd-shaped fish at a cleaning station at Honaunau Bay. It has at least three common names that I know of: scrawled filefish, scribbled filefish, and broomtail filefish. The binomial nomenclature for this fish is Aleuterus scriptus. It is a bizarre looking creature that is incredibly flattened, covered with electric blue dots and squiggles and has a tail that accounts for a third or more of its total length. I see these fish more frequently in the winter months here in Hawai'i. They occur singly, in pairs and sometimes in loose groups.  Happy Diving!