Rough triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata)
Image source: Jo's Animal Database
General data
- Main name: Rough triggerfish
- Local names: Whitespotted triggerfish, Spotted triggerfish, Spotted oceanic triggerfish
- Habitat: Saltwater
- Native: Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia & Oceania
- Distribution: Red sea, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian ocean
Classification
- Genus: Canthidermis - Canthidermis
- Family: Balistidae - Triggerfishes
- Order: Tetraodontiformes - Puffers and filefishes
- Class: Actinopteri - Ray-finned fishes
- Superclass: Osteichthyes - Bony fishes
Description
Canthidermis maculata, or rough/spotted oceanic triggerfish, is a pelagic species found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
In the Philippines, it is called Tikos and is common in the Visayas and Mindanao.
In the Pacific, it ranges from the Gulf of Thailand and Japan to the Philippines, Indonesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, and from Mexico to Peru in the eastern Pacific.
In the Indian Ocean, it spans from the Red Sea and eastern Africa to India, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
Atlantic populations occur from New York to Brazil and around the Canary Islands and western Africa.
It inhabits warm, high-biodiversity waters, often offshore on deep slopes, in open water, or under fish aggregating devices, sometimes forming large groups.
Adults reach 50 cm (usually 35 cm); juveniles are gray-black with white spots, adults blue-gray. Adults may show dark blotches on the face and fins during mating.
The dorsal fin has 23–27 rays, with the first two forming a “trigger,” while the anal fin has 20–27 rays. Juveniles have rounded caudal fins, adults concave.