Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata) — Habitat, Photos

Q: Where can you find Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish?

Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish can be found in: Egypt East, Laccadive Islands, Mariana Islands, Circumtropical, Cocos Island, Saudi Arabia West, Morocco West, Honduras East, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Gabon, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Guinea, Ireland, Cuba West, Panama East, Malpelo Island, Azores, Spain West, Costa Rica West, Mexico South East, Australia North, Marshall Islands, USA South East, Costa Rica East, Malaysia West, Galapagos, Colombia West, Somalia East, Vanuatu, Sudan, Venezuela, Belize, Brunei, China, Ecuador, Eritrea, Australia, Kenya, Senegal, Lesser Antilles, India, Israel, France North West, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico West, Mexico East, Cuba East, Japan South, India East, India West, Thailand West, Panama West, Israel South, Colombia North, Somalia North, Australia East, Nicaragua West, Nicaragua East, Guatemala West, Guatemala East, Honduras South, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bermuda, Seychelles, Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin, Congo, New Zealand, Cameroon, Saint Thomas and Prince, Togo, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Namibia, French Polynesia, Peru, South Korea, Spain, Polynesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malaysia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Dominican Republic, USA, Honduras, South Africa, Red Sea, Japan, Cuba, Indonesia, Chagos Islands, Mexico, Argentina, Mozambique, Jordan, Palau, Philippines, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Micronesia, Egypt, Brazil, Tonga and Samoa, Portugal, Gambia, Yemen, Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, Jamaica, Kiribati, French Guiana, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Comoros, Suriname, Fiji, Haiti, Bahamas, France, Thailand, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Colombia, Somalia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Virgin Islands (U.K.).

Canthidermis maculata is a species of triggerfish native to the tropical and subtropical oceans worldiwide. Unlike most triggerfish, they are mostly pelagic.

Other names: Rough Triggerfish.

In the Philippines, it is locally called as Tikos in the Cebuano language and is abundant in the Visayas and Mindanao island groups.

Description

The maximum length for this species is 50 centimetres (20 in) but usually grows up to 35 centimetres (14 in). Adults and juveniles have different coloration. Adults are blue grayish while juveniles are grayish black with white spots that fade over age. Adults may be seen with dark blotches appearing on the face and pectoral fins during mating. These dark markings are also present on females hovering above their nests and may disappear within a few seconds once they ascend upwards in the water column, away from their nest. In this fish, the dorsal and anal fins are curved on the back. The dorsal fin of this species has from 23 to 27 rays. The first dorsal fin’s rays are spinous, with the first two rays more like sharp thorns. The smaller second thorn props up the longer first thorn giving it the appearance of a trigger, after which the fish is named. Its anal fin has 20 to 27 rays. Adults and juveniles also have different caudal fin shapes. Juveniles have rounded caudal fins and adults have concave ones.

Distribution and habitat

It range in the western Pacific Ocean ranges from the Gulf of Thailand north to the Yellow Sea and Japan. The range in the Pacific Ocean extends to the Philippines, Indonesia, and all the way to Polynesia and Hawaii. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, The are found from Mexico and around the Gulf of California down to Peru and the Galapagos Islands. Around the Indian Ocean, it ranges from the Red Sea and eastern Africa to Seychelles, the Maldives, the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, the Andaman Sea, Australia, and Indonesia. Populations in the Atlantic Ocean range from New York down to the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean Sea and down to Brazil in the western side. Around the eastern Atlantic Ocean, it ranges from the British Isles and the Bay of Biscay to Azores, the Canary Islands and western Africa. Some populations are also found in South Africa. This species of fish is found in open seas. It occurs at depth of 0 to 110 metres (0 to 361 ft).

Diet

Canthidermis maculata is considered either a carnivorous or a planktivorous fish. It feeds on pelagic crustaceans, fish larva, and zooplankton.

Behavior

In the wild, this fish species is found in large schools. They are usually associated with objects floating around.

Importance to humans

This fish species shows some importance to commercial fishing. It is eaten by some people as a food fish. Some importance of this species to humans is also shown by being sold in the market. Even more rarely, it is sold as an aquarium fish. There have been reports of ciguatera poisoning in some humans that consumed the fish.

Life cycle

The fish starts out as eggs. Once they hatch, they become pelagic larva. After the pelagic larva grow up into juveniles, they start taking their adult form.