Genus: Rhinecanthus, Triggerfish, Triggerfishes
no patch large scales behind gill opening
RHINECANTHUS
TRIGGERFISHES
Body oblong, robust, compressed; cheeks 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; III dorsal spines, 1st can be locked erect, 2nd > ½ the size of 1st, 3rd minute, barely visible; soft dorsal and anal of uniform height, not higher at front; most rays of dorsal, anal and pectoral fins branched; tail base with 3-5 rows of small spines; tail straight 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; without group of large, partly separated bony scales immediately behind gill opening; lateral line inconspicuous.
An Indo-Pacific genus with 7 species; 2 introduced into the GC
