Queen triggerfish
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Queen triggerfish ( Balistes vetula ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Balistes vetula | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The queen triggerfish ( Balistes vetula ) lives in the western Atlantic from Massachusetts across the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of southern Brazil , as well as in the eastern Atlantic from the Azores , Cape Verde to southern Angola and at Ascension . In Brehm's animal life the fish was still called "Altweiberfisch" ( vetula "Greisin" - perhaps because at first only shrunken dry specimens were known), in Hans Hass (1940) it was already called queen hornfish ( understanding the back sting as "horn"); (Greek) balistes means "projectile".
features
Queen triggerfish are greenish or gray-blue, the underside of the head and trunk are yellow-orange. Two bright blue bands run from the mouth to the base of the pectoral fins , the lower one turns into a blue ring around the lips. A broad blue transverse band extends over the tail fin stalk. The upper part of the flanks is patterned by thin, brownish diagonal bands. The caudal fin is sickle-shaped. The fish become 60 centimeters long.
Fin formula : dorsal III / 29–32, anal 27–29
Way of life
Queen triggerfish live close to the coast, on rocky and sandy bottoms, seagrass beds and in coral reefs at depths of 5 to 50 meters. The fish live individually or in larger groups. They feed on bottom -dwelling invertebrates , including sea urchins , which are blown around with a jet of water or lifted up and dropped until they fall on their unprotected underside and are then eaten by the short-spiked underside. In addition, are clams , snails , various crustaceans and bristle worms eaten. Queen triggerfish spawn in shallow sand pits, the spawning is guarded by the male.
Trivia
Especially in Cuba , queen triggerfish are not only called pez ballesta reina , but also cochinos ("pigs"). Due to this misunderstanding, the name of the Bay of Pigs , which became famous through the events during the Cold War, arose in other languages - although the original name Bahía de Cochinos in this case actually means “ triggerfish bay ” or “ old woman fish bay ”.
literature
- Baensch, Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 6 Non-Perciformes (non-perch-like) . Mergus-Verlag, Melle, ISBN 3-88244-116-X
- Andreas Vilcinskas : Marine animals of the tropics. A guide for divers, snorkelers and aquarists. Over 700 lower animals, fish, reptiles and mammals. Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-07943-0
Web links
- Queen triggerfish on Fishbase.org (English)
- Balistes vetula inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Roberts, C., 1996. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Common names of Balistes vetula on www.fishbase.se