Pseudobalistes fuscus

Pseudobalistes fuscus (common names: blue triggerfish, rippled triggerfish, yellow-spotted triggerfish and blue-and-gold triggerfish) is a fish belonging to the family Balistidae.^[2][3]

Pseudobalistes fuscus
Pseudobalistes fuscus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Balistidae
Genus:	Pseudobalistes
Species:	P. fuscus
Binomial name
Pseudobalistes fuscus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms
Balistes caerulescens, Rüppell, 1829[2] Balistes fuscus, Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Balistes rivulatus, Rüppell, 1837

Description

Juvenile

Pseudobalistes fuscus can reach a length of 55 centimetres (22 inches) in males. The body is mainly brown, but fins have yellow margins. Juveniles are yellowish brown with a network of brilliant bluish wavy lines. With growth these lines become interconnected.^[2]

This fish is known for its aggressiveness and many divers choose to stay away from them, as they bite often.

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Tropical Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to South Africa, Society Islands, southern Japan, Australia and New Caledonia.^[2]

Habitat

Pseudobalistes fuscus is a reef-associated species. It prefers coastal waters, shallow lagoons and seaward reefs, at 30–50 metres (98–164 ft) of depth.^[2]

Diet

This triggerfish, like most other triggerfish, eats shellfish, small crustaceans, and other bottom-dwelling invertebrae.^[2]

• 
  Juvenile
• 
  With scale bar, in New Caledonia
• 
  Red Sea
• 
  In captivity