‹ Fish Finder· #052
Reef Triggerfish
Rhinecanthus rectangulus
Bislamastrongskin · sanpepafis— names this kind of animal, not this species alone
- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 30 cm
- Depth
- 0-20 m
- Family
- Balistidae
The reef triggerfish, also known as the rectangular triggerfish, wedgetail triggerfish or by its Hawaiian name humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, is one of several species of triggerfish. It is found in coral reefs in the entirety of the Western Pacific Ocean from North to South and Eastern Central Pacific. It is also found in the Indian Ocean from East to West and the Southeast Atlantic Ocean. It exists in 0 to 50 meters in depth.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
Both are sand-brown above and white below, with a pig-like snout and bold dark markings. Reef Triggerfish has one broad black band running diagonally from the eye down to the anal fin, and a black wedge on the base of the tail. Lagoon Triggerfish has blue lines crossing the top of the head between the eyes, and a dark patch mid-flank with pale diagonal stripes behind it.
See the Lagoon Triggerfish →
Both are pale brown above and white below, with a big black area low on the body. Reef Triggerfish's black runs as a band from the eye down to the belly between the pectoral and anal fins, and a black wedge points forward from the tail base. Blackbelly Triggerfish has only a dark streak below the eye and no wedge on the tail: its black is one large patch on the belly, centred above the vent, with a pair of yellowish blotches near the tail.
See the Blackbelly Triggerfish →