Monacanthidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Eupercaria
Ordo: Tetraodontiformes

Familia: Monacanthidae
Genera: Acanthaluteres - Acreichthys - Aluterus - Amanses - Anacanthus - Brachaluteres - Cantherhines - Cantheschenia - Chaetodermis - Colurodontis - Enigmacanthus - Eubalichthys - Lalmohania - Meuschenia - Monacanthus - Nelusetta - Oxymonacanthus - Paraluteres - Paramonacanthus - Pervagor - Pseudalutarius - Pseudomonacanthus - Rudarius - Scobinichthys - Stephanolepis - Thamnaconus
Name

Monacanthidae Nardo, 1842
References

Miyajima, Y. et al. 2014: First fossil occurrence of a filefish (Tetraodontiformes; Monacanthidae) in Asia, from the Middle Miocene in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. Zootaxa 3786(3): 382–400. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3786.3.7 Reference page.
Santini, F., Sorenson, L. & Alfaro, M. E.; 2013: A new multi-locus timescale reveals the evolutionary basis of diversity patterns in triggerfishes and filefishes (Balistidae, Monacanthidae; Tetraodontiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 30 May 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.05.015

Links

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2006. FishBase, version (02/2006). [1]

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Feilenfische
English: Filefish
日本語: カワハギ科
中文: 沙鯭

The filefish (Monacanthidae) are a diverse family of tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish, which are also known as foolfish, leatherjackets or shingles. They live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Filefish are closely related to triggerfish, pufferfish and trunkfish.

The filefish family comprises approximately 102 species in 27 genera. More than half of the species are found in Australian waters, with 58 species in 23 genera.[3]

Their laterally compressed bodies and rough, sandpapery skin inspired the filefish's common name.
Description

Appearing very much like their close relatives the triggerfish, filefish are rhomboid-shaped, with beautifully elaborate cryptic patterns. Deeply keeled bodies give a false impression of size when the fish are viewed facing the flanks. Filefish have soft, simple fins, with comparatively small pectoral fins and truncated, fan-shaped tail fins; a slender, retractable spine crowns the head. Although there are usually two of these spines, the second spine is greatly reduced, being used only to lock the first spine in the erect position. That gives rise to the family name Monacanthidae, from the Greek monos meaning "one" and akantha meaning "thorn". Some species also have recurved spines on the base of the tail (caudal peduncle).
This fan-bellied leatherjacket, Monacanthus chinensis, was photographed in nearshore water, northeast coast of Taiwan

The small terminal mouths of filefish have specialized incisor teeth on the upper and lower jaw. In the upper jaw there are four teeth in the inner series and six in the outer series. In the lower jaw, there are four to six in an outer series only. The snout is tapered and projecting and the eyes are located high on the head. Filefish have rough non-overlapping scales with small spikes, which is why they are called filefish. Although scaled, some filefish have such small scales that they appear scaleless. Like the triggerfish, filefish have small gill openings and greatly elongated pelvic bones, creating a "dewlap" of skin running between the bone's sharply keeled termination and the belly. The pelvis is articulated with other bones of the "pelvic girdle" and is capable of moving upwards and downwards in many species to form a large dewlap, which is used to make the fish appear much deeper in the body than is actually the case. Some filefish erect the dorsal spine and pelvis simultaneously to make it more difficult for a predator to remove them from a cave.

The largest filefish species is the scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus) at up to 110 cm (43 in) in length. Most species are less than 60 cm (24 in) in length. There is marked sexual dimorphism in some species, with the sexes possessing different coloration, different body shapes, and the males with larger caudal spines and bristles.
Aluterus scriptus grows up to 110 cm (43 in) in length
Habitat and life history
Cantherhines macrocerus

Adult filefish are generally shallow water fish, inhabiting depths of no more than about 30 metres. They may be found in lagoons or associated with seaward reefs and seagrass beds; some species may also enter estuaries. Some species are closely associated with dense mats of sargassum, a particularly ubiquitous "sea weed"; these filefish, notably the planehead filefish (Stephanolepis hispidus) are also coloured and patterned to match their weedy environments.

Either solitary, in pairs or small groups depending on the species, filefish are not terribly good swimmers; their small fins confine the fish to a sluggish gait. Filefish are often observed drifting head downward amongst stands of seaweed,[4] presumably in an effort to fool both predator and prey alike. When threatened, filefish may retreat into crevices in the reef.

The feeding habits of filefish vary among the species, with some eating only algae and seagrass; others also eat small benthic invertebrates, such as tunicates, gorgonians, and hydrozoans; and some species eat corals (corallivores). It is the latter two habits which have largely precluded the introduction of filefish into the aquarium hobby.

Filefish spawn at bottom sites prepared and guarded by the males; both he and the female may guard the brood, or the male alone, depending on the species. The young filefish are pelagic; that is, they frequent open water. Sargassum provides a safe retreat for many species, both fish and weed being at the current's mercy. Juvenile filefish are at risk from predation by tuna and dolphinfish.
As food
Jwipo (left), Korean dried and flattened filefish

In FAO fisheries statistics, the largest category of filefish are Cantherhines spp. with annual landings around 200,000 tonnes in recent years, mostly by China. Landings of threadsail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer) and smooth leatherjacket (Meuschenia scaber) are reported at species level, with the rest as "Filefishes, leatherjackets nei" (nei = not elsewhere included).[5]

Threadsail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer) is a popular snack food in Korea. It is typically dried and made into a sweet and salty jerky called jwipo (Korean: 쥐포), which is then roasted before eating.
Genera

Acanthaluteres
Acreichthys
Aluterus
Amanses
Anacanthus
Arotrolepis
Brachaluteres
Cantherhines
Cantheschenia
Chaetodermis
Colurodontis
Enigmacanthus
Eubalichthys
Lalmohania
Meuschenia
Monacanthus
Navodon
Nelusetta
Oxymonacanthus
Paraluteres
Paramonacanthus
Pervagor
Pseudalutarius
Pseudomonacanthus
Rudarius
Scobinichthys
Stephanolepis
Thamnaconus