Lagoon triggerfish

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Lagoon 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 Lagoon triggerfish, (Rhinecanthus aculeatus) also known as the blackbar triggerfish, the Picassofish, and the Jamal, is a triggerfish, up to 30 cm in length, found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Hawaiian name for the fish, humu­humu­nuku­nuku­āpua`a (IPA: [ˌhumuˌhumuˌnukuˌnukuˌa:puˈaʔa]), also spelled humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua`a or just humuhumu for short (meaning "triggerfish with a snout like a pig"^[1]) shares the same name with the Reef triggerfish, the state fish of Hawaii.

[edit] Behavior

Lagoon 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.

Lagoon Triggerfish live on the flat areas of the reef.

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

Aquarium specimen

[edit] References

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