redtail filefish
Pervagor melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Pervagor melanocephalus is a filefish from the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 16 cm (6.3 in) in length.
Wikipedia contributors, Pervagor melanocephalus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:01:10.898053+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pervagor melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853)
- Name authority
- (Bleeker, 1853)
- Common name
- redtail filefish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Monacanthidae
- Genus
- Pervagor
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTetraodontiformes
- suborderBalistoidei
- familyMonacanthidae Nardo, 1843
- genusPervagor Whitley, 1930
- speciesPervagor melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pervagor. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pervagor alternans (Ogilby, 1899) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| orangetail filefishPervagor aspricaudus (Hollard, 1854) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pervagor marginalis Hutchins, 1986 | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pervagor nigrolineatus (Herre, 1927) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pervagor spilosoma (Lay & Bennett, 1839) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackbar filefishPervagor janthinosoma (Bleeker, 1854) | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pervagor randalli Hutchins, 1986 | MonacanthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Monacanthus melanocephalus Bleeker, 1853 Bleeker, 1853 | synonym |
| Pervagor melanocephalus melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853) (Bleeker, 1853) | synonym |
| Acreichthys melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853) (Bleeker, 1853) | synonym |
| Stephanolepis melanocephalus (Bleeker, 1853) (Bleeker, 1853) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=220071 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4FB4F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.