Cantherhines pardalis

Cantherhines pardalis
File:Cantherhines pardali.jpg
File:Cantherhines pardalis.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Monacanthidae
Genus:	Cantherhines
Species:	C. pardalis
Binomial name
Cantherhines pardalis (Rüppel, 1837)
Synonyms
Amanses microlepidotus Gray, 1859 Cantherines pardalis (Rüppell, 1837) Hanomanctus bovinus Smith, 1949 Monacanthus aspersus Hollard, 1854 Monacanthus brunneus Castelnau, 1873 Monacanthus fatensis Seale, 1906 Monacanthus fuliginosus MacLeay, 1883 Monacanthus houttuyni Bleeker, 1854 Monacanthus kibikib Montrouzier, 1857 Monacanthus laevicaudatus Duncker & Mohr, 1929 Monacanthus melanistius Regan, 1908 Monacanthus melanuropterus Bleeker, 1853 Monacanthus natalensis Gilchrist & Thompson, 1911 Monacanthus pardalis Rüppell, 1837

Cantherhines pardalis is a species of fish in the family Monacanthidae, the filefishes. Common names include honeycomb filefish, honeycomb leatherjacket, and wire-netting filefish. It is native to the Indian Ocean, the eastern Atlantic, and the western Pacific, except for the seas around Hawaii, where it is replaced by Cantherhines sandwichiensis.

Description

This fish can reach 25 centimeters in length, but its common length is around 15 centimeters. The dorsal fin is divided into two parts, the anterior one having two long, curved spines and the posterior one thirty-two to thirty-six soft rays. The first dorsal spine is located immediately above the middle of the eye and there is a deep groove in the fish's back into which the spine folds down. The anal fin has no spines and twenty-nine to thirty-two soft rays. This species has three basic color types: a uniform dark brown, a mottled grayish-brown, and gray background color with a network of fine polygonal markings. There is a prominent white spot at the base of the rear of the second dorsal fin and another at the base of the rear of the anal fins, a feature this species shares with the closely related C. pullus, found on tropical Atlantic reefs, and C. sandwichiensis from Hawaii.

Distribution and habitat

This fish lives in tropical marine waters around reefs. It generally occurs at depths of up to 20 m (66 ft), sometimes venturing deeper. It is a shy and retiring fish, usually living solitarily and feeding on benthic organisms. Both juveniles and adults sometimes drift with plants and algae, including rafts of Sargassum.