Are these colour forms of Paraluteres prionurus the mimic filefish?

I found these two hanging out together at Sodwana Bay, South Africa at a depth of about 15m. I was first attracted by the blue spots on the second one. Pardon the quality but neither wanted to pose as the mimic filefish usually do. Neither of these look a lot like the mimic filefish in our waters though the second looks a bit like cf prionurus on page 685 of Kuiter and Debelius's new book World Atlas of Marine Fish.

Thanks

The right hand one is an older/bigger/male mimic filefish, I think. It is more like the right hand picture in the RK/HD book (from the Maldives). They are usually this type of colour.

The first one, I can't help with. Do you have any more angles on it?

Alex

My tattered copy of Lieske & Myers Coral Reef Fishes has an illustration that looks like the one on the left, which they say is Cantherhines frontcintus. The photo on Fishbase looks entirely different, but some filefish undergo different colour phases...

Cheers,

Marli

I have searched the web in vain for a match to the first fish. I have found the second shown as the mimic filefish but not on a scientific site. Here are some more photos of the first.

I also found this fish on the same reef but several 100 meters away that seems to be an older specimen of the first fish.

This fish was also in the same area that seems to a specimen of the second.

I have never consciously seen either of these before and seeing two sets in different places might indicate something? Marli does this second sighting look more or less like the one in your book?

Once again, appologies for the quality of the photo's

Your "older" version looks exactly like the illustration of C. fronticintus in this ID book.

Cheers,

Marli

Thanks Marli, I believe the connections between "older" and "younger" are adequate that baring evidence to the contrary I will go with C. fronticintus