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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes > Family Monacanthidae |
| Fan-bellied
filefish Monacanthus chinensis* Family Monacanthidae updated Feb 11 Where seen? This filefish is commonly seen on many of our shores, in sheltered areas with seagrasses and near reefs. Features: To about 38cm, but those seen were 5-8cm long. Large triangular skin flap on the belly that can be greatly expanded. It has thin brown bands on its tail. The upper fin rays on the tail is produced into a filament. It has a concave snout profile and triangular back profile. Body with broad oblique bars on the sides, in some these bars may be indistinct. They come in all shades from brown to green. What does it eat? It eats seagrass, seaweed and small crustaceans as well as immobile animals such as bryozoans, ascidians and hydroids. Human uses: It is sold as seafood in some places. |
 St. John's Island, Jun 07  Filament on upper fin ray of the tail. |
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Fan-bellied filefishes on Singapore shores
 Beting Bronok, Jul 03 |
 Large belly flap |
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 Changi, Apr 07 |
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 Chek Jawa, Jul 05 |
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 Pulau Sekudu, Apr 06 |
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more photos of fan-bellied filefishes on Singapore shores
northern shores part 1 | part 2 | part 3
southern shores part 4 | part 5
*Identification needs confirmation. Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.
Links
References
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Periplus Editions. 292 pp.|
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