Balistes capriscus
Gray Triggerfish
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Balistidae (Triggerfishes)
Balistes
Balistes capriscus (Gray Triggerfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Notched teeth and bony scutes above pectoral fin base. Deep groove in front of eye. Teeth at symphyses of upper and lower jaws are pointed, and those on lateral aspects of jaws have incised biting surfaces. Upper jaw has two rows of teeth, with eight teeth in outer row and six in inner row. Lower jaw has a single row of six teeth. Gill rakers on first arch number 31 to 35. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 36%–37%, snout length 25%–26%, eye diameter about 8%, pectoral fin length 15%–16%, body depth at origin of anal fin 48%–50%. Pectoral fin has 15 rays. Second dorsal fin is elevated anteriorly and has 26 to 29 (usually 27 or 28) rays. Anal fin is similar in shape to second dorsal fin and has 23 to 26 (usually 24 or 25) rays. Caudal fin is convex in juveniles and double emarginate in adults. Scales in lateral series number 57 to 63.
Color is olivaceous gray, with three dark blotches or broad bars and blue to purplish spots on upper flank, lighter spots on lower flank, and chin light tan. Second dorsal and anal fins are dark brown, with dark spots more or less arranged in rows.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Nova Scotia and Bermuda to Argentina, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Found throughout the Gulf of Mexico over its depth range.
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate Atlantic Ocean, to a depth of 50 m. Habitats include coral reefs and grassy and sandy bottoms.
Coral reefs and grassy and sandy bottoms.
Biology
Food consists of benthic invertebrates.
Maximum known size is 300 mm TL.
Inhabits bays, harbors, lagoons, and seaward reefs (Ref. 9710). May drift with young at surface among Sargassum (Ref. 9710). Usually solitary or in small groups (Ref. 9710). Feeds on benthic invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans (Ref. 4727). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Consumed mostly fresh, smoked, and dried salted. The flesh is of excellent quality. Because it is resistant to capture, it proliferates and competes for food with other species (Ref. 5377).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; guarders (nesters); parental care: biparental. Adults guard the embryos nested in sand which hatched in about two days (Ref. 9778).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2011-06-06. Resilience: Medium (K=0.18-0.43; tm=1).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Moore 1967
Randall 1968a
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Matsuura 1983t, 2002b
Robins and Ray 1986
Cervigón 1993a
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and J.-C. Quéro (1990) Balistidae. p. 1055-1060. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 p.
Lobel, P.S. and R.E. Johannes (1980) Nesting, eggs, and larvae of triggerfishes (Balistidae). Environ. Biol. Fishes 5(3):251-252.
Göthel, H. (1992) Fauna marina del Mediterráneo. Ediciones Omega, S.A., Barcelona. 319 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Smith-Vaniz, W.F., B.B. Collette and B.E. Luckhurst (1999) Fishes of Bermuda: history, zoogeography, annotated checklist, and identification keys. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 4. 424 p.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
Gómez-Canchong, P., L. Manjarrés M., L.O. Duarte and J. Altamar (2004) Atlas pesquero del area norte del Mar Caribe de Colombia. Universidad del Magadalena, Santa Marta. 230 p.
Matsuura, K. (2015) Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. Ichthyol. Res. 62(1):72-113. DOI: 10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5
Edelist, D. (2014) New length-weight relationships and Lmax values for fishes from the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 30:521-526. DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2012.02060.x
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