Redtoothed triggerfish
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| Odonus niger Rüppell, 1836 |
The redtoothed triggerfish or Niger trigger, Odonus niger, is a triggerfish of the tropical Indo-Pacific area, the sole member of its genus.
[edit] Characteristics
The redtoothed triggerfish is a dark blue bodied fish, ranging up to 50 cm in length. The fins are all blue-green in color, having yellow and light blue trim. It has a lyre shaped caudal fin with a yellow bar between the lobes. Like all triggerfish redtoothed triggers have a retractable dorsal spine. Their pectoral fins are quite small; as a result they swim mostly with their dorsal and anal fins, which makes them not so fast, but very maneuverable. Edit: Fish do not use the pectoral fins for forward propulsion, but the dorsal fin. Thus triggerfish are not slow. In fact they can reach quite some speed in short bursts. The dorsal and anal fins give them the ability to swim backwards, wich is an advantage if you feed of coral and have to maneuver in narrow spots.
[edit] Behavior
It inhabits open waters and current-swept seaward reefs between 0 to 35 metres (0-115 feet) and can often be seen in groups turning and circling just under the sea surface while feeding on plankton brought in by the current. Sponges are another part of their menu.
 Group of Redtoothed Triggerfish feeding on plankton. |
 The red teeth are its distinguishing feature. |
[edit] References
- Odonus niger (TSN 173222). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 24 January 2006.
- "Odonus niger". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. November 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
