Scrawled Filefish

Description:

Elongate, strongly compressed filefish with a long, broom-like tail. Snout concave. Body olive brown to gray in color, with blue to blue-green spots, irregular lines and black dots (A. scriptus 2). The elongated first spine of the front dorsal fin cannot be locked (A. scriptus). Size up to 110 cm. Juveniles may be yellowish brown with dark spots.

Habitat:

The Indians are an uninhabited small archipelago of islets in the British Virgin Islandsin the Caribbean. They are west of the small British Pelican Island and east of the small US Flanagan Island. They are located south of larger British Tortola Island and east of the large US Saint John Island. They were so named because from a distance they were though to resemble a Native American chief's head dress. The Indians are also the second most popular dive site in the British Virgin Islands after the wreck of the RMS Rhone. The shallower side of the Indians are also a popular snorkellingsite, as boats can anchor in the lee of Pelican Island.

Notes:

Associated with lagoons and seaward reefs, the scrawled filefish may be found in subtropical waters at depths from 10-394 feet (3-120 m) but more typically seen at 10-66 feet (3-20 m). It is also sometimes observed swimming under floating objects with juveniles traveling with weed rafts in the open ocean until reaching a large size. Juvenile scrawled filefish often swim in a vertical, head-down position when associated with drifting vegetation to avoid being detected by potential predators. In addition to camouflage, filefish use spines for protection from predation. When threatened, the filefish will dive quickly into a crevice in the reef, wedging itself into the shelter by erecting the dorsal spine on its head. This large spine is locked into place by the smaller spine located behind it while another spine located on the belly extends to further securely wedging the fish in the crevice. This behavior is also used when the filefish rests on the reef at night.