Picasso triggerfish

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Picasso 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 or Jamal 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.

Picasso Triggerfish live on the flat areas of the reef.

Picasso Triggerfish swimming around the reef of Fihalhohi, the Maldives.

[edit] References

• Rhinecanthus aculeatus (TSN 173203). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 24 January 2006.
• "Rhinecanthus aculeatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. December 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.