Rare Sighting: Black-lined filefish

Yesterday Miguel’s Diving staff went exploring a new location. Among the wonderful marine creatures seen during the dive was a very secretive and puzzling filefish. It turned out to be the cryptic and rarely seen Black-lined filefish (Pervagor nigrolineatus). She was hiding inside a black crinoid but soon disappeared into Gorontalo’s dense coral growth. Found only in the Western Pacific, this filefish has several color phases. One is greenish with distinct black lines; another is brown with a thick irregular, mid bodyline with a white line on its nose. The one is our photo has none of these characteristics and the white on her face is actually a bit of skin she is shedding. However, her elegant nose is distinctive to this species. The fish in the photograph is female.