It can be quite a misleading common name, as the Whitespotted Filefish does not always display its white spots, and could more accurately be called the ‘Orange Filefish’. This could get confusing though with the Orangespotted Filefish though (which itself is brown and doesn’t always display its orange spots), so we will just leave things as they are. The pictured individual here though is clearly displaying its white spots, which weren’t ‘out’ when I first started trying to get a decent photograph of it, but became clearer and bolder with every passing moment that I followed it around point my camera at it. Sorry.
This species (Cantherhines macrocerus) is one of the largest species of filefish found in the Caribbean, with many members being much smaller (see Fringed Filefish). A close relative of the triggerfish, filefish have the unmistakable pre-dorsal spine, although they cannot lock in place as the triggerfish can: they can however still erect it upright making their potential predators think twice about taking a bite. This species is distinct from the similarly named C. dumerilii which is found in the Indo-pacific region.
Originally posted on Instagram @sea_anguilla with the text: Whitespotted Filefish posing for a photo op on the reefs around Scrub Island. These cute looking fish can change colour dramatically to display their patterns, and this one was properly showing them off while hovering motionless for a couple of minutes in front of my camera before disappearing under a rocky ledge.