Painted Triggerfish

Family	Balistidae
Description	Triggerfishes
Environment	Marine
Etymology	Greek, balein = to throw (
Genus	12
No. of Species	42
Order	Tetraodontiformes
Class	Actinopterygii
Reproductive Guild	Guarders
Distribution	Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Usually compressed body. Pelvic fins fused to one spine. First dorsal spine with locking mechanism. With 12 principal rays in caudal fin. 18 vertebrae. Upper jaw non-protrusible. Upper jaw usually with four teeth in outer and three in the inner series on each premaxillary. Capable of rotating eyeballs independently. Triggerfish normally swim by undulating their second dorsal and anal fins, but will use their tail for rapid bursts. Most triggerfishes are solitary diurnal carnivores, feeding on a wide variety of invertebrates including hard-shelled mollusks and echinoderms; some also feed on algae or zooplankton. They lay demersal eggs in a nest which is aggressively guarded by the female, less often by the male. Popular and hardy in aquaria, but often aggressive

Painted Triggerfish

Typically found in deeper water reefs. Humu humu is Hawaiian meaning to fit pieces together possibly referring to its nest building habits. Nuku nuku apua'a means nose like a pig referring to it's blunt nose. Triggerfish have sharp beaks and are capable of cracking open crustaceans such as urchins and crabs, given half a chance. It's cousin, the triangular triggerfish was the Hawaii state fish for a number of years but was recently "voted out" and, ironically, never replaced.