Scrawled filefish

Aluterus scriptus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth5–24 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsJune, July, and September
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Matteo Bellucci, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Aluterus scriptus, commonly known as scrawled filefish, broomtail filefish or scribbled leatherjacket, is a marine fish belonging to the family Monacanthidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aluterus scriptus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 425 records
February: 366 records
March: 453 records
April: 565 records
May: 497 records
June: 707 records
July: 683 records
August: 663 records
September: 675 records
October: 443 records
November: 412 records
December: 394 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–24 m · Deepest record: 380 m

0–10 m: 845 records
10–20 m: 813 records
20–30 m: 483 records
30–40 m: 25 records
40–50 m: 8 records
50–60 m: 16 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 12 records
24–26 °C: 31 records
26–28 °C: 279 records
28–30 °C: 54 records

Photos

(c) stevemerkley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Sockrosma, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Scrawled filefish, Broom-tail File, Broomtail Filefish, Filefish, Scrawled Fiiefish, scrawled filefish, Scrawled Filefish, Scrawled Leatherjacket, Scribbled Filefish, Scribbled Fish, Scribbled Leatherjacket Filefish, Scrolled Filefish, Tobaccofish, unicornfish

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Cachua, Cachúa Lija Azul, Lija, lija trompa, Pez Lija Puntiazul, Puerco de Altura, Puerco de Lijatrompa, Unicornios
French: Baliste écriture, Bourse écriture, Bourse graffiti, Bourse écriture, Bourse loulou, Chien Katounou, Poisson-lime gribouillé
Japanese: Soshihagi, ソウシハギ

Other scientific names: Aleuterus scriptus, Aleuteus scriptus, Alutera armata, Alutera picturata, Alutera scripta, Aluteres pareva, Aluteres personatus, Aluteres scripta, Aluterus renosus, Aluterus scripta, Aluterus venosus, Balistes laevis, Balistes liturosus, Balistes ornatus, Balistes scripta, Balistes scriptus, Monacanthus scriptus, Osbeckia scripta

Similar species

Leatherjacket
Aluterus monoceros
Broom filefish
Amanses scopas
Barred filefish
Cantherhines dumerilii
Honeycomb filefish
Cantherhines pardalis
Sandwich Isle file
Cantherhines sandwichiensis
Barbeled leatherjacket
Anacanthus barbatus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
3,673 open-data records from 1765 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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