Creature of the Month
courtesy of Scuba News
Picasso Triggerfish According to our Club President, the Picasso Triggerfish
is also know as the "Humuhumukununukuapua'a" which means
"fish with a pig's nose" in Hawaiian.
Rhinecanthus spp
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Trigger fishes are so called because of the shark-fin
shaped trigger they are able to raise in defense. They use
this to jam themselves into a crevice in the coral. The
trigger is actually the first spine of its dorsal (top) fin.
They bend the second spine forward to fix the first
firmly in position. When the fish is swimming the fin
is flattened into a groove.
Trigger fish are easy to identify from their distinctive
shape. They have deep bodies, high eyes, small mounths
and colourful patterns - no more so than the
Picasso Trigger Fish.
Five of the six species of the Rhinecanthus genus are
known as Picasso Triggerfish (or just Picasso Fish).
They are all between 23 and 30 cm long and mostly live
in shallow water, less than 20 m deep. They feed on a
wide variety of animals living on the bottom: fish,
invertebrates and algae. You will find them in the
Red Sea, Great Barrier Reef, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
An attractive fish with blocks of colour on a white
and beige background. Unlike some trigger fish, these
aren't commonly aggressive towards divers. However,
they do lay eggs in a nest on the sea bed which is
guarded by the female fish, who will attack other
fish that approach They are also territorial.
Further Reading:
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Coral Reef Fishes (Collins Pocket Guides)
by Ewald Lieske and Robert Myers
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/fishbook.html
