Species: Lactophrys trigonus, Trunkfish

Lactophrys trigonus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Trunkfish

Body oblong, with an obvious hump on back, thick, enclosed in a bony box formed by thickened, joined, enlarged scale plates that are usually hexagonal in shape; carapace has openings for mouth, eyes, gill slits and fins and tail, completely surrounds base of anal fin but incomplete and partly open behind base of dorsal fin, behind which there is an isolated oval plate, without spines before eyes, with a pair of spines at lower rear corner, last plates above and below tail base not prolonged as spines; mouth small, at front, lips fleshy; teeth moderate, conical, usually <15 per jaw; gill openings short, oblique slits in front of pectoral bases; no spiny dorsal, soft dorsal and anal fins at rear of carapace; no pelvic fins; tail base slender, flexible, tail fin a fan with a rounded end; dorsal, anal and pectoral fin rays branched; lateral line inconspicuous.

Green to tan, with a dark-edged honeycomb pattern; small adults with 2 blackish oblique chain-like marks, 1 behind and above the pectoral base, the other about mid-side; Juvenile: orange to lime green; nape and upper body with scattered small white ringed, dark spots, those spots darker in 2 areas above pectoral and at mid-body.

Reaches 55 cm.

Lives mainly in seagrass beds, also rubble areas and offshore reefs.

Depth range: 1-110 m.

Massachusetts to Brazil; Ascension island in the S Atlantic.