Picasso triggerfish

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iPicasso fish or humuhumu

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Balistidae
Genus: Rhinecanthus
Species: R. aculeatus
Binomial name
Rhinecanthus aculeatus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Picasso triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus, or blackbar triggerfish is a triggerfish, up to 30 cm in length, found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It was named after the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso due to the remarkable colour pattern with yellow and blue stripes across the head.

[edit] Behavior

Picasso triggerfish live in the shallow flats and sandy areas of coral reefs where it eats just about anything it comes along (small fish, crustaceans, sea urchins, coral, worms, etc). They are always restlessly swimming around and can vigorously protect their territory against intruders, including divers, especially when guarding their eggs during reproduction season. Fortunately, their relative small size makes them much less dangerous than their larger brother the titan triggerfish.

[edit] References

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