Animalia Life
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
FAMILY
Monacanthidae
TAXONOMY
Oxymonacanthus longirostris Bloch and Schneider, 1801, East
Indies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Harlequin filefish; French: Baliste а taches orange;
German: Palettenstachier; Japanese: Tengukawahagi.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body compressed and elongate with a pronounced, almost
tubular snout. There are two spines and 31–35 soft rays in the
dorsal fin and 29–32 soft rays in the anal fin. The color is
bright green with orange spots or elongated blotches. The
eyes are ringed with orange. The caudal fin is whitish with a
small dark spot posteriorly. Grows to 4.7 in (12 cm) in total
length.
DISTRIBUTION
Tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific from East Africa
and Mozambique east to Samoa and Tonga, north to southern
Japan, and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and New
Caledonia. The very similar congener O. halli replaces it in the
Red Sea.
HABITAT
Found on coral-rich seaward and lagoon reefs, including reef
flats, between 1.6 and 98 ft (0.5–30 m).
BEHAVIOR
Males and females most often are found in pairs that jointly patrol
a shared territory. Territoriality is especially pronounced
during mating season, and territorial defense is greater among
males than females during this time, because females generally
spend more time feeding. Aggressive
BEHAVIOR
takes place in relation
to food or mates. Males are capable of defending territories
successfully alone during mating season, but females are not.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds upon Acropora spp. coral polyps.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
This species usually is monogamous but is facultatively polygynous
in relation to the availability of mates locally. If males are
in short supply, a male may have a two-female mating group.
Eggs are demersal and laid almost daily during the season on a
piece of filamentous algae, but no care is given. Algae that is
toxic is preferred, because of the anti-predation advantage that
it confers, in the absence of parental care, upon the eggs. The
larvae are pelagic.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN but may be vulnerable because of
coral bleaching.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Collected for the aquarium trade but does not do well without
live coral.
Photo Gallery of - Longnose filefish
