Broom filefish

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Broom filefish
Broom filefish (Amanses scopas).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Monacanthidae
Genus: Amanses
Species:
A. scopas
Binomial name
Amanses scopas
(G. Cuvier, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Amnases scopas(Cuvier, 1829) · isspelling)
  • Anameses scopas(Cuvier, 1829) misspelling - incorrect subsequent spelling
  • Anamses scopas(Cuvier, 1829) (misspelling)
  • Balistes scopasCuvier, 1829
  • Monacanthus hystrixBurton, 1835
  • Thamnaconus peniculariusFourmanoir in Roux-Estève & Fourmanoir, 1955

Amanses scopas, also known as the broom filefish, is a filefish, the only extant species in the genus Amanses of the family Monacanthidae. It is also called brush-sided leatherjacket in Australia or broom leatherjacket in Christmas Island. [2]

Contents

The broom filefish is a harmless tropical reef fish from the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific oceans, growing to a length of 20 cm (7.9 in). The body is brown with up to 12 narrow dark brown crossbars, the caudal fin is dark brown, and the soft dorsal, anal and pectoral fins are pale. Males have numerous long spines in front of the caudal peduncle, and females similarly have a toothbrush-like mass of setae in the same location.

They occur in areas of mixed sand, rubble, and coral heads of semi-protected seaward reefs.

References

  1. Matsuura, K.; Motomura, H. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Amanses scopas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T69921994A115473829. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T69921994A70010070.en . Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  2. Matsuura, K. (2014). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113.