Grey triggerfish

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Grey triggerfish
Pez ballesta (Balistes capriscus), Parque natural de la Arrabida, Portugal, 2020-07-23, DD 24.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Balistidae
Genus: Balistes
Species:
B. capriscus
Binomial name
Balistes capriscus
Synonyms [2]
List
    • Balistes buniva Lacepède, 1803
    • Balistes caprinus Valenciennes, 1839
    • Balistes capriscus Gronow, 1854
    • Balistes carolinensis Gronow, 1854
    • Balistes forcipatus Gmelin, 1789
    • Balistes fuliginosus DeKay, 1842
    • Balistes moribundus Cope, 1871
    • Balistes powellii Cope, 1870
    • Balistes spilotopterygius Walbaum, 1792
    • Balistes taeniopterus Poey, 1860
    • Nematobalistes forcipatus (Gmelin, 1789)

The grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), or gray triggerfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and off Angola on the west coast of Africa.

Contents

In its appearance and habits, the grey triggerfish is a typical member of the genus Balistes except for its drab, uniformly grey colouration. It is a relatively small fish, usually less than 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) in weight. It is fished recreationally and despite its tough skin, is an excellent food-fish. [3] The species is classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List.

Description

Balistes capriscus Madeira Druckerfisch Kuste Funchal 5-07.JPG
Balistes capriscus

The grey triggerfish is a medium-sized fish that can grow to 60 cm (24 in), but a more common length is 44 cm (17 in). The small beak-like mouth at the tip of the snout has fleshy lips. The eyes are set far back near the top of the head. The body is laterally compressed and deep-bodied with a tough, leathery skin. The front dorsal fin has three spines, the first being very strong and much longer than the other two. The second dorsal fin has 26 to 29 soft rays and is much the same size and shape as the anal fin directly below it which has no spines and 23 to 26 soft rays. The pectoral fins are small and rounded. The outer rays of the caudal fin are elongated in larger individuals. The scales on the head and front half of the body are large while those on the hind half are smaller and smooth. [4] [5]

This fish is predominantly pale grey, greenish-grey or yellowish-brown. The body has three indistinct broad dark bars and there is a pale streak on the chin. The upper part of the orbit of the eye is blue and there are some small blue spots and lines on the dorsal fins and upper parts of the body, and sometimes white dots and irregular lines on the lower parts of the body. Both the second dorsal and the anal fin present a somewhat marbled appearance. The body colour fades a little as the animal gets older: juveniles are more colourful. [4] [5]

Distribution and habitat

School of grey triggerfish on the Berlengas archipelago, Portugal Cardume peixe porco Berlengas.jpg
School of grey triggerfish on the Berlengas archipelago, Portugal

The grey triggerfish is principally a fish of shallow waters in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its native range extends from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda, and southwards to Argentina. It is typically found over hard bottoms on reefs and rocky areas, in lagoons and in bays, at depths down to about 55 m (180 ft). It is also found on the other side of the Atlantic, around the British Isles, in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Angola. [5] It may have crossed the Atlantic as a result of the movement of water in the Gulf Stream and breeds in the Mediterranean. [6]

Once considered to be an uncommon visitor to northern European seas, an increase in records around the Cornish coast, may indicate it is now breeding there; [7] in addition, it has been found in other areas along the coast of Great Britain in recent years, suggesting that its range is continuing to expand northwards, with one caught as far north as the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. [8]

Behaviour

Locomotion in the grey triggerfish is by means of undulations of the dorsal fins. If threatened, the fish can work its way into a protective crevice and wedge itself in place by erecting its front dorsal spine. It is difficult to dislodge from this position. The second spine is connected to the first and when it is depressed, it triggers the unlocking of the first spine. [5]

The grey triggerfish is a demersal species and feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates such as shrimps, crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, sand dollars, starfish and sea cucumbers. It has strong teeth specialised for making holes in hard-shelled prey. An interesting feeding behaviour has been observed, in which the fish positions itself vertically above a sandy seabed and puffs a stream of water out of its mouth. This disturbs the substrate and may reveal something edible. Further puffs expose more, and the prey item is gripped with the fish's sharp teeth and removed from the seabed. [9] If it is a sand dollar, the fish drops it and picks it up again several times until the prey lands upside down. The fish then adopts its vertical stance once more and attacks the middle with closed jaws, crushing the soft central area. It then scoops out and devours the flesh. [5]

Males develop a charcoal grey colouration and are highly territorial during the breeding season, which commences in summer when the water temperature reaches about 21 °C (70 °F). The males prepare up to a dozen nests in hollows blown out of sandy seabed [10] and then patrol the area, driving unwanted fish away. The females roam around inspecting the nest sites. When a female is ready to spawn, both male and female enter a nest and tightly circle round each other while she lays large numbers of minute eggs and he fertilises them. The female stays in the nest, guarding the eggs and blowing and fanning them. The male defends his territory, which may contain other nests with females guarding their eggs. In this way, the male exhibits harem behaviour. [11] Wrasses and red snappers sometimes feed on the eggs which, if they survive that long, hatch after about fifty hours. The fish larvae migrate up towards the surface of the water where they often become part of the community depending on floating sargassum weed. There they feed on algae, barnacles, hydroids and polychaete worms. In the autumn, when they reach about 15 cm (6 in), the juvenile fish leave the sargassum and sink down to the sea bed. [5]

Recreational fishing

Sketch of grey triggerfish Triggerfish-Gray-NOAAFisheries.png
Sketch of grey triggerfish

The grey triggerfish is fished recreationally around Florida and elsewhere. It is known as a notorious bait stealer and is found over hard bottom in 20 to 40 m (66 to 131 ft) depths off the Atlantic Coast of Florida, often in association with black sea bass and red snapper. Because of its bony mouth it needs a small sharp hook which is usually baited with squid or cut bait. [12] The flesh is of high quality but the consumption of this fish has been linked to isolated cases of ciguatera poisoning. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triggerfish</span> Family of ray-finned fishes

Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacific. Most are found in relatively shallow, coastal habitats, especially at coral reefs, but a few, such as the oceanic triggerfish, are pelagic. While several species from this family are popular in the marine aquarium trade, they are often notoriously ill-tempered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black sea bass</span> Species of fish

The black sea bass is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, where it is an important species for commercial and recreational fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahi-mahi</span> Species of fish

The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado and dolphin, it is one of two members of the family Coryphaenidae, the other being the pompano dolphinfish. These fish are most commonly found in the waters around the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii and the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clown triggerfish</span> Species of fish

The clown triggerfish, also known as the bigspotted triggerfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Balistidae, or commonly called triggerfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filefish</span> Family of fishes

The filefish (Monacanthidae) are a diverse family of tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish, which are also known as foolfish, leatherjackets or shingles. They live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Filefish are closely related to triggerfish, pufferfish and trunkfish.

<i>Mycteroperca microlepis</i> Species of fish

The gag grouper, also known as velvet rockfish, the gag, or charcoal belly, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It comes from warmer parts of the West Atlantic, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a drab, mottled-gray fish lacking the distinguishing features of most other groupers. Its pattern of markings resemble the box-shaped spots of the black grouper. It lacks the streamer-points on the tail fin that scamp and yellowmouth grouper have and lacks yellow coloration around the mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand goby</span> Species of fish

The sand goby, also known as a polewig or pollybait, is a species of ray-finned fish native to marine and brackish European waters from the Baltic Sea through the Mediterranean Sea and into the Black Sea where it occurs in sandy or muddy areas of inshore waters at depths of from 4 to 200 metres. This species can reach a length of 11 centimetres (4.3 in) TL. This species is sometimes kept in public aquariums. The sand goby is of a sandy colour, with darker markings on the sides and a creamy-white underside. In the breeding season the male fish has blue spot at the rear of the first dorsal fin, ringed with white. The fish has a slender body, and the head is about a quarter of the total length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sargassum fish</span> Species of fish

The sargassum fish, anglerfish, or frog fish is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Antennariidae, the frogfishes, the only species in the genus Histrio. It lives among Sargassum seaweed which floats in subtropical oceans. The scientific name comes from the Latin histrio meaning a stage player or actor and refers to the fish's feeding behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black goby</span> Species of fish

The black goby is a species of ray-finned fish found in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. It inhabits estuaries, lagoons, and inshore water over seagrass and algae. It feeds on a variety of invertebrates and sometimes small fish. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Lophius americanus</i> Species of fish

Lophius americanus is a goosefish in the family Lophiidae, also called all-mouth, American anglerfish, American monkfish, bellows-fish, devil-fish, headfish, molligut, satchel-mouth, or wide-gape. It is native to the eastern coast of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater amberjack</span> Species of fish

The greater amberjack, also known as the allied kingfish, great amberfish, greater yellowtail, jenny lind, Sea donkey, purplish amberjack, reef donkey, rock salmon, sailors choice, yellowtail, and yellow trevally, is a species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae, the jacks and pompanos. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical seas around the world. It is a popular quarry species for recreational fisheries and is important in commercial fisheries. It is the largest species in the family Carangidae.

<i>Stegastes planifrons</i> Species of fish

Stegastes planifrons is a damselfish from the Western Atlantic. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

<i>Xanthichthys ringens</i> Species of fish

Xanthichthys ringens, the Sargassum triggerfish, is a species of triggerfish from the Western Atlantic, ranging from North Carolina (USA) to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common dragonet</span> Species of fish

The common dragonet is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.

Chasmodes saburrae, the Florida blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny found in the western central Atlantic Ocean, around the coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaweed blenny</span> Species of fish

The seaweed blenny is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of New York, Bermuda, the Bahamas, also in the Gulf of Mexico, south to southern Brazil. This species reaches a length of 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) TL.

<i>Stegastes leucostictus</i> Species of fish

Stegastes leucostictus is a species of damselfish found near the sea bed in shallow waters on the western fringes of the Atlantic Ocean. It is commonly known as the beau gregory or beaugregory.

<i>Canthidermis maculata</i> Species of fish

Canthidermis maculata, also known as rough triggerfish or spotted oceanic triggerfish, is a species of triggerfish native to the tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Unlike most triggerfish, they are mostly pelagic.

<i>Monacanthus ciliatus</i> Species of fish

Monacanthus ciliatus, commonly known as the fringed filefish, the cuckold or the leather-fish, is a species of bony fish commonly found in shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Canthidermis sufflamen</i> Species of triggerfish

Canthidermis sufflamen, the ocean triggerfish, is a species of pelagic triggerfish that can be found throughout the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, with its range extending as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Brazil.

References

  1. Liu, J.; Zapfe, G.; Shao, K.-T.; Leis, J.L.; Matsuura, K.; Hardy, G.; Liu, M.; Tyler, J. (2016) [errata version of 2015 assessment]. "Balistes capriscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T193736A97662794. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 Bailly, Nicolas (2013). "Balistes capriscus Gmelin, 1789". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  3. Fisheries, NOAA (3 October 2023). "Gray Triggerfish | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Balistes capriscus" in FishBase . June 2006 version.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bester, Cathleen. "Gray triggerfish". Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  6. Reeds, Kate (2008). "Trigger fish: Balistes capriscus". Marine Life Information Network . Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  7. Gainey, P A (2009). Marine and Estuarine Fish. In Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (2nd ed.). Praze-an-Beeble: Croceago Press. p. 553. ISBN   978-1-901685-01-5.
  8. "Triggerfish | British Sea Fishing". 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  9. "Triggerfish, Gray". South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  10. Florida Museum of Natural History site
  11. Simmons, Carrie M.; Szedlmayer, Stephen T. (2012). "Territoriality, Reproductive Behavior, and Parental Care in Gray Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus, from the Northern Gulf of Mexico". Bulletin of Marine Science. 88 (2): 197–209. doi:10.5343/bms.2011.1012.
  12. "Gray triggerfish: Balistes capriscus". Fishing: Recreational regulations. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.