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Triggerfish of the family Balistidae

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Moorish, 24 Dec 2017.

  1. Moorish

    Moorish Active Member

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    Over my 17 years of existence I have visited atleast 22 European aquariums and 32 American/Canadian aquariums. Since I own multiple Triggerfish at my home aquarium, I thought it would be interesting to check Zootierliste on the listings of triggerfish.
    There are about 40 species of known triggerfish and from those 40, 24 species are kept at European zoos and aquaria.
    I will now make a list of all species and their captive status and availability in the gallery.

    1) Rhinecanthus Assasi - Arabian Picassofish, kept at 6 aquariums throughout Europe.
    There are no pictures of this species in the gallery
    2) Melichthys Niger - Black Durgon is kept at 7 European collections.
    There are 3 pictures of this species in the gallery like this one: Black Triggerfish (Melichthys niger) | ZooChat
    3) Rhinecanthus Verrucosus - Blackberry Triggerfish is kept at 7 European collections
    There is only one photo of this species in the gallery: Bursa triggerfish - Rhinecanthus verrucosus | ZooChat
    4) Sufflamen Albicaudatum - Bluethroat Triggerfish is seen at only one collection, Arnhem (Burgers Zoo) there appear to be no photos of this species in the gallery
    5) Sufflamen Bursa - Boomerang Triggerfish is currently kept at the Dusseldorf Aquazoo, there are 3 photos of this species in the gallery: Scythe Triggerfish (Sufflamen bursa) | ZooChat
     
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  2. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Another interesting project!
    [​IMG] ;)

    It's worth pointing out now that with scientific names, although the genus name has a capitalised first letter, the species (and subspecies) names are not capitalised. It's also standard practice to italicise the scientific name if it's typed. :)
     
  3. Hix

    Hix Wildlife Enthusiast and Lover of Islands 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Are you stopping with just five?

    :p

    Hix
     
  4. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    Nice thread of the style of the butterflyfishes in genus Chaetodon, on which is for sure based. Triggerfishes - and tetraodontiforms in general - are some of my favourite fishes. I copypaste here the triggerfish section of my animal species seen in captivity:

    Balistapus undulatus (Orange-lined triggerfish). Faunia. 2017. Madrid zoo-aquarium. 2017
    Balistes capriscus (Grey triggerfish). Barcelona aquarium. 2013
    Balistes vetula (Queen triggerfish). Madrid zoo-aquarium. 2017
    Balistoides conspicillum (Clown triggerfish). Faunia. 2009. La Rochelle aquarium. 2009. Barcelona aquarium. 2013. Madrid zoo-aquarium. 2017. Duisburg zoo. 2017. Cologne zoo. 2017. Aquarium shops, various times.
    Melichthys indicus (Indian triggerfish). Seaworld San Diego. 2016
    Melichthys niger (Black triggerfish). La Rochelle aquarium. 2009
    Odonus niger (Red-toothed triggerfish). Aquarium shop. 2004. Liberec botanical garden. 2013
    Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus (Yellowmargined triggerfish). Madrid zoo-aquarium. 2017
    Pseudobalistes naufragium (Stone triggerfish). Birch aquarium. 2016
    Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Picassofish). Aquarium shops, several times. Most public aquariums. Wuppertal zoo. 2017
    Rhinecanthus rectangulus (Wedge-tail triggerfish). Aquarium shop. 2016
    Rhinecanthus verrucosus (Blackbelly triggerfish). Aquarium shop. 2014
    Sufflamen verres (Orangeside triggerfish). Birch aquarium. 2016
    Xanthichthys lineopunctatus (Striped triggerfish). La Rochelle aquarium. 2009
     
  5. Moorish

    Moorish Active Member

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    I’ll continue the list after christmas.
     
  6. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Nice thread of an intresting family from which I've seen already quite a number of species. Hope I ( an other ZooChatters ) can add photos of the species still missing in our Gallery !
     
  7. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    To help to fill the gaps in our Gallery I started checking my pictures of Burger's Zoo and found indeed 2 ( rather bad ) photos of the Bluethroat triggerfish ( Sufflamen albicaudatum ). They were made on 2 different visits in 2016 and 2017 and at both times I saw ( at least on in the large shark-tank. I've already uploaded these photos and they can be found here :
    Sufflamen albicaudatum | ZooChat
    Sufflamen albicaudattum | ZooChat
     
  8. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    BTW Moorish, can you tell us which species you are keeping / have kept ?
     
  9. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    I add here an image of each species represented in the Gallery:

    Abalistes stellaris by Hix:
    [​IMG]

    Balistapus undulatus by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Balistes capriscus by Newzooboy:
    [​IMG]

    Balistes vetula by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Balistoides conspicillum by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Balistoides viridescens by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Melichthys indicus by me (this species was not represented previously in the gallery so I uploaded it)
    [​IMG]

    Melichthys niger by me:
    [​IMG]

    Melichthys vidua by Hix:
    [​IMG]

    Odonus niger by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    The number of images by post is limited to 20 so I'll continue in the next message
     
  10. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus by Hix:
    [​IMG]

    Pseudobalistes fuscus by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Pseudobalistes naufragium by me. This species was not represented previously in the gallery, so I uploaded it.
    [​IMG]

    Rhinecanthus aculeatus by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Rhinecanthus assasi by devilfish:
    [​IMG]

    Rhinecanthus rectangulus by Hix:
    [​IMG]

    Rhinecanthus verrucosus by Vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Sufflamen albicaudatum by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Sufflamen bursa by Hix:
    [​IMG]

    Sufflamen verres by me. This species was not represented previously in the gallery so I've uploaded it:
    [​IMG]

    Xanthichthys auromarginatus by vogelcommando:
    [​IMG]

    Xanthichthys lineopunctatus by me:
    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Moorish

    Moorish Active Member

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    Sure, I keep a reef triggerfish and a Picasso triggerfish :)
     
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  12. Zoovolunteer

    Zoovolunteer Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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  13. Moorish

    Moorish Active Member

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    Balistapus undulatus - Orange-lined triggerfish
    This species is kept at 20 European collections like the Genova aquarium (which I have visited)
    There are many photos of this species in the gallery, like this one: Orange-striped triggerfish - Balistapus undulatus | ZooChat

    Balistoides conspicillum - Clown triggerfish is seen at a huge array of European zoos, there are many photos of this species in the gallery, like this one: Clown Triggerfish | ZooChat

    Balistoides viridescens - Titan triggerfish
    Seen at 4 aquaria in Europe, there are 4 photos of this species in the gallery: Titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) | ZooChat

    Canthidermis macrolepis - Large-scale triggerfish is kept at no European collections, there are no photos of this species in the gallery

    Canthidermis Maculata - Spotted oceanic triggerfish is seen at no European aquariums and there appear to be no photos of this species in the gallery.

    Canthidermis Sufflamen - Ocean triggerfish is kept at the Palma aquarium, there are no photos of this species in the gallery.
     
  14. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Not the best example of a specimen or a photo, but here's a shot: [​IMG]
     
  15. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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  16. Sarus Crane

    Sarus Crane Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Everytime I see a Clown Triggerfish I see big sharp teeth and can hear the phrase "You'll float too". I don't have Coulrophobia but might have Coulrotriggerphobia!
     
  17. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    This is like the original and most unofficial Photo Guide! :p

    I have seen 11 identified species of triggerfish this far, of which 7 have photographs uploaded to ZooChat:
    Grey Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus
    Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum
    Red-Toothed Triggerfish, Odonus niger
    Black Triggerfish, Melichthys niger
    Pinktail Triggerfish, Melichthys vidua
    Lagoon Triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus
    Gilded Triggerfish, Xanthichthys auromarginatus

    Species I have seen but not currently photographed are Queen Triggerfish, Large-Scale Ocean Triggerfish, Blue-and-Gold Triggerfish, and Orangeside Triggerfish. I may have a photo of Queen Triggerfish taken at Biomes Marine Biology Center but I haven't gone through those photos yet and can't remember if I photographed their individual. I also have a pretty bad photo of the ocean triggerfish that might be in the identification gallery but I'm having trouble finding it. There's probably also one or two other species in the identification gallery that I never worked out and have since forgotten about :(

    ~Thylo
     
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  18. Sarus Crane

    Sarus Crane Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I saw a gigantic 3 foot triggerfish in the Smithsonian once during a behind the scenes tour. It was in the fish types room at the MSC. I didn't see the ID tag and forgot to ask about it. I think it might've been a Stone Triggerfish (Pseudobalistes naufragium)?
     
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  19. Kakapo

    Kakapo Well-Known Member

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    This was much anterior to any of the official photo guides.

    I've searched the names of the species mentioned by you and found that the large-scaled ocean triggerfish most probably refers to Canthidermis macrolepis, that would be interesting because it don't have photos in the Gallery and hence also not in this thread.

    What happened with the images of Sufflamen albicaudatum and Sufflamen verres in the thread?
     
  20. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Yes I know.

    My photo is better than I remember, but still not great. In any case, I give you the Large-Scaled Ocean Triggerfish, Canthidermis macrolepis.

    ~Thylo