Scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus)

Aluterus scriptus is a marine fish belonging to the family Monacanthidae. Its is a medium size fish which can grow up to 110 cm in length. This species has a circumtropical repartition, it can be found in the tropical waters from the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It can be observed in lagoons, coral and rocky reefs, seaweed fields,pinnacles, wrecks and also in open water. Aluterus scriptus is omnivorous and have a large choice for its meals like small crustaceans, algae, gorgonians, anemones, tunicates, fire coral and so on. It has a diurnal activity and is demersal. It is solitary and shy with divers and is rarely seen in couple or in group.

Part 12 of my weekly series, "Reef Life of the Andaman". Scrawled filefish, Aluterus scriptus, feature first in this video. Sometimes known as a "scribbled filefish" or "scribbled leatherjacket", they are a common sight at many dive sites in Thailand. Then we encounter various members of the triggerfish family (Balistidae). The orange-lined triggerfish feeding on a sea urchin at Staghorn Reef on Racha Yai Island. Then the amazing patterns of the clown triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum, at various sites in Thailand's Similan Islands. Schools of redtooth triggerfish, Odonus niger, adorn the reefs at the Burma Banks. We find the larger yellowmargin triggerfish, Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus, at Hin Muang. And finally we encounter the often-aggressive titan triggerfish, Balistoides viridescens, attacking my fins at Koh Bon in defence of it's nest.