Redtail Triggerfish – A Noisy Reef Inhabitant

Photo courtesy from Ryan Photographic

Redtail Triggerfish (Xanthichthys mento)

Other Common Names: Blue-throat Triggerfish, Crosshatch Triggerfish
Max. Length: 30 centimeters
Length at 1st Maturity: 18.5 centimeters
a value: 0.02344
b value: 2.95
Depth Range: 6 – 130 meters (20 – 430 feet)
Frequency: Abundant but vulnerable due to live aquarium fish trade

Photo courtesy from www.fishwisepro.com

You can easily identify this type of triggerfish through its yellow-colored body that has many dark lines creating a pattern that looks like a crosshatch. Their face has a distinct blue lining that runs from the mouth up to the back portion of its gill plate earning it another name, the blue-throat triggerfish. Another distinguishing marks for this particular species are the brightly colored fins where the tail is described to have red undertone with a bright neon-blue lining.

Slightly Friendly rather than Ballistic

While we cannot discount that all the species of triggerfish are aggressive and territorial especially when it comes to guarding their eggs, the redtail triggerfish displays a slight mode of friendliness.

Photo courtesy from Reefs.com

During your descent in one of the popular dive sites in Cocos Island, you will observe that a redtail triggerfish will come up and greet you while you are traversing your course towards the reef.

If you are interested to see more of its behavior, we suggest you stay in one corner of the reef not far from the lair of a redtail triggerfish. While establishing your neutral buoyancy for a nice view, you can see that a redtail triggerfish will usually re-arrange its surrounding landscape as it wanders around cracks and crevices. During this process, they are also hunting down food where their favorite meal includes small squids, fish, krill and even clams courtesy of their powerful teeth which constantly grows and sheds all the time.

Trivia: Have you ever heard of a grunting sound underwater? That sound comes from the redtail triggerfish where they are known to produce and vocalize sounds.

Reference

Fishbase: www.fishbase.org

IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species: www.iucnredlist.org

Marine Life Photography: www.marinelifephotography.com

Video courtesy from nikosnature

About Tristan Paylado
Tristan is a marine biologist and a CMAS 2-Star Dive Instructor
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