Widow triggerfish
| Widow triggerfish | ||||||||||||
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Widow triggerfish ( Melichthys vidua ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Melichthys vidua | ||||||||||||
| ( Richardson , 1845) |
The widow triggerfish ( Melichthys vidua ), also known as the redtail triggerfish , lives in the western Indo-Pacific from east and South Africa ( Durban ) to Hawaii , the Marquesas , Tuamotu , north to southern Japan and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia . It occurs in loose associations in outer reefs with a rich fauna of invertebrates and strong coral growth at depths of four to 60 meters.
Way of life
Widow triggerfish feed mainly on free-floating, torn algae and detritus , but also on crustaceans , cephalopods , sponges and smaller fish. Reproduction is largely unknown. The pelagic phase of the fry is very long. They go only adolescent, with a length of 13 to 14 centimeters to the reef-bound life.
features
The whitish, transparent and black-edged dorsal and anal fins and the pink caudal fin in the rear half are characteristic of the widow triggerfish . Their body color is greenish, pectoral fins and mouth region are yellowish. The fish are 35 centimeters long.
Fin formula : dorsal III / 31–35, anal 28–31
literature
- Hans A. Baensch , Robert A. 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
- Ewald Lieske, Robert F. Myers: Coral fish of the world . Year Top Special Verlag Hamburg, ISBN 3-86132-112-2
- Dieter Eichler, Robert F. Myers: Coral fish Indo-Pacific . Jahr-Verlag GmbG & Co., ISBN 3-86132-225-0
Web links
- Widow Triggerfish on Fishbase.org (English)