Species: Balistoides conspicillum, Clown triggerfish

back: yellow blotch + black spots

Balistoides conspicillum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Clown triggerfish
Body oblong, robust, compressed; cheeks with well developed longitudinal grooves; distinct groove before eye and below nostril; a small mouth that opens at the front, with powerful jaws made up of 8 heavy, outer teeth on the upper and lower jaws, teeth notched, uneven in size; gill opening a short slit on side before pectoral base; dorsal fin III, 1st can be locked erect, 2nd > ½ the size of 1st, 25-27; anal fin 21-22; soft dorsal and anal of uniform height, not higher at front; most rays of dorsal, anal and pectoral fins branched; pectoral 14; 3-4 rows of forward-pointing spines on tail base, extending slightly forwards on body; tail rounded; pelvic fins externally reduced to 4 pairs of large scales encasing end of pelvis; thick leathery skin, with regularly arranged diagonal scale plates; snout completely scaled; cheeks entirely scaled; a group of large, partly separated bony scales that form a thick membrane immediately behind gill opening; body scales small, 39-50 along side; lateral line inconspicuous.
Black upper body, a yellowish patch densely covered with irregular small black spots on front of back; lower body with large round white blotches separated by black lines; head black, chest white or black with large white spots; a yellow to white bar crossing snout under eyes, mouth surrounded by orange-yellow; spinous dorsal fin black; soft dorsal and anal fins with yellow to orange bases, whitish centers; tail fin black with a cream to white bar down center. Juvenile body black, with large round white spots; snout yellow, a yellow blotch on nape.
Reaches 50 cm
Normally lives on outer edges of outer reefs
Depth range 1-105 m.
Indo-central Pacific: introduced to Florida.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef only
- Corals
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Sea-stars/cucumbers/urchins
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Exotic (Introduced)
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Exotic (Introduced)
- Continent
- GC non-endemic
- Continent only
- All species..
- Residency
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- Vagrant
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 50
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 105