Genus: Melichthys, Black Durgon Triggerfish, Durgons, Triggerfishes

MELICHTHYS

TRIGGERFISHES, DURGONS

Body an elongate oval; robust, compressed; cheeks without longitudinal grooves; a distinct groove before eye and below nostril; mouth small, opens a little above center line, with powerful jaws and 8 heavy, outer teeth on the upper and lower jaws, teeth more or less even in size, not notched; gill opening a short slit on side before pectoral base; dorsal fin III (1st can be locked erect, 2nd > ½ the size of 1st); most rays of dorsal, anal and pectoral fins branched; 8-10 ridges on rear of body and tail base formed by scales with low ridges; 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; a patch of enlarged scales immediately behind gill opening; lateral line inconspicuous.

A circumtropical genus with 3 species; 1 circumtropical species in our region.