Scrawled Filefish: Living Blue Graffiti

The scrawled filefish looks like someone doodled on it — an olive-tan body covered in squiggly blue lines and black spots, with a long, paddle-shaped tail. It drifts gracefully, often head-down, grazing the reef. Here's how to spot one snorkeling near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Scrawled Filefish · Aluterus scriptus

How to spot the scrawled filefish near Jacó

Look for a large, flattish, slow-drifting fish near sea fans and reef edges, often tilting head-down as it feeds. The scrawled filefish's blue scribble-lines and scattered black dots over an olive body are unmistakable, as is the broad, fan-like tail it trails behind.

5 fun facts about the scrawled filefish

• Covered in scribbles. Wavy blue lines and black dots scrawled across its body give it both its name and one of the most distinctive patterns on the reef.
• A hidden file. Filefish get their name from a stout, rough spine on the head that can be locked upright, plus sandpapery skin like a carpenter's file.
• A head-down grazer. It often hangs vertically, snout down, to nibble seagrass, algae, soft corals, and small invertebrates.
• A quick-change coat. It can rapidly pale or darken its colors to blend with seagrass beds or the open blue.
• Big but gentle. It's one of the larger filefish, reaching over three feet, yet it's a slow, harmless drifter of the reef.

The scrawled filefish is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.