BASIC MORPHOLOGY
A cartilaginous teleost This species of Triggerfish is seemingly unattractive. They are a highly compressed ovular species and are largely a dull gray color. A bright white line extends from its mouth to the anal fin dividing the darker gray above and the lighter gray below. The darker patterning on their body can be speckled, bars, or hardly visible. Their bottom jaw is exceptionally pale compared to the rest of their body and their eyes are set within a pale blue rim. http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/triggerfishprofiles/p/prgraytrigger.htm
Their mouth is small and beaked, capable of crushing the exoskeletons of their prey. Each jaw has four teeth on either side while the upper jaw also contains six plate-like pharyngeal …show more content…
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/triggerfish/
“Their anterior dorsal fin is reduced to a set of three spines.” They have rhomboid scales, forming an armour over their body (wiki), and giving them a rough sandpaper like qualityhttp://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/triggerfish-gray. They have a peculiar covering of gill plates shared by members of the Tetradontae order. …show more content…
Interestingly, males remained near the nests guarding the area after fertilization (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). However, it is not known whether this behaviour is territorialism or parental care (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Intriguingly the male not only chases other fish away but visits the female on the nest and is the only fish the female will allow near the eggs (Fig 3) (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). While both males and females chase their chasing patterns are distinctly different (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Females only make short rapid attacks and will not travel on average more than 2 m from the nest (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Unlike other species in the same genus B. capriscus do not feed prior to and after fertilization (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). They can be seen foraging within a meter of their nest but rarely actually feed (Fig 4.) and their persistence in staying near the nest is unparalleled by their close relatives (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Their territory is in three dimensions and extends out from the nesting area 2-3m and above in a tapering fashion thus fish several meters above can be deeper within their territory than those laterally positioned (Millington & Randall, 1990). During the spawning season males and females are
A cartilaginous teleost This species of Triggerfish is seemingly unattractive. They are a highly compressed ovular species and are largely a dull gray color. A bright white line extends from its mouth to the anal fin dividing the darker gray above and the lighter gray below. The darker patterning on their body can be speckled, bars, or hardly visible. Their bottom jaw is exceptionally pale compared to the rest of their body and their eyes are set within a pale blue rim. http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/triggerfishprofiles/p/prgraytrigger.htm
Their mouth is small and beaked, capable of crushing the exoskeletons of their prey. Each jaw has four teeth on either side while the upper jaw also contains six plate-like pharyngeal …show more content…
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/triggerfish/
“Their anterior dorsal fin is reduced to a set of three spines.” They have rhomboid scales, forming an armour over their body (wiki), and giving them a rough sandpaper like qualityhttp://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/triggerfish-gray. They have a peculiar covering of gill plates shared by members of the Tetradontae order. …show more content…
Interestingly, males remained near the nests guarding the area after fertilization (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). However, it is not known whether this behaviour is territorialism or parental care (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Intriguingly the male not only chases other fish away but visits the female on the nest and is the only fish the female will allow near the eggs (Fig 3) (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). While both males and females chase their chasing patterns are distinctly different (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Females only make short rapid attacks and will not travel on average more than 2 m from the nest (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Unlike other species in the same genus B. capriscus do not feed prior to and after fertilization (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). They can be seen foraging within a meter of their nest but rarely actually feed (Fig 4.) and their persistence in staying near the nest is unparalleled by their close relatives (Simmons & Szedlmayer, 2012). Their territory is in three dimensions and extends out from the nesting area 2-3m and above in a tapering fashion thus fish several meters above can be deeper within their territory than those laterally positioned (Millington & Randall, 1990). During the spawning season males and females are