Species: Rhinecanthus aculeatus, Lagoon triggerfish, Whiteband triggerfish

center flank: large black blotch
thin black bar through eye

Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Whiteband triggerfish, Lagoon triggerfish
Body oblong, robust, compressed; top and bottom head profiles nearly straight; cheek normally scaled, without longitudinal grooves; no 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, 3rd minute, barely visible), 23-26; 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 12-14; tail base and rear body with 3 rows of small, forward-pointing spines, lowest row short, on peduncle only; tail rounded to W shaped; pelvic fins externally reduced to 4 pairs of large scales encasing end of pelvis; thick leathery skin, with regularly arranged diagonal scale plates; no group of large, partly separated bony scales immediately behind gill opening; lateral line inconspicuous; lateral scales 32-39.
Greenish- to brownish white; upper side of body with a large black area, with oblique dark bars extending backwards up and down from it; head with a board black bar across eyes and down cheek, that with blue lines between eyes and blue edges; a yellow-orange stripe from mouth to lower rear of head; top lip with a blue stripe; tail base with black spines in an elongate white blotch.
Reaches 30 cm
Habitat: Subtidal reef flats and shallow lagoons.
Depth range 0-50 m.
Indo-central Pacific; introduced to southeast Florida.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- 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
- Omnivore
- Corallivore
- Planktivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Benthic microalgae
- Zooplankton
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Hard corals
- Data
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Exotic (Introduced)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent only
- Exotic (Introduced)
- GC non-endemic
- 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
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 50
- Length Max
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- 30