Radial Filefish

Acreichthys radiatus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Monacanthidae
Genus: Acreichthys
Species: Acreichthys radiatus

The radial filefish (Acreichthys radiatus) is a small, leaf-shaped filefish that lives among soft corals and algae, its mottled green-brown body covered in fine radiating lines. Small skin tassels and white spots complete its disguise.

It grows to only about 6-7 cm. It hovers close to its host, often Xenia or other soft corals, and can lock its dorsal spine in place to wedge itself into shelter. It feeds on tiny invertebrates and may nibble on the soft coral polyps it lives among.

The radial filefish is found in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where macro divers find it hiding in soft coral patches on reefs and rubble slopes.

Photo: desertnaturalist, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist