Pinktail triggerfish

Widows triggerfish ( Melichthys vidua )

The widows triggerfish ( Melichthys vidua ), also called red-tailed triggerfish, lives in the western Indo-Pacific from East and Southern Africa (Durban ) to Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tuamotus, north to southern Japan and south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. It comes in loose clusters in outer reefs with a rich fauna of invertebrates and strong coral growth at depths of four to 60 meters in front.

Way of life

Widows triggerfish feed primarily on free driving, demolished algae and detritus, but also crustaceans, cephalopods, sponges and smaller fish. The reproduction is largely unknown. The pelagic stage of juveniles is very long. They go only half-grown, with a length of 13 to 14 inches to riffgebundenen life over.

Features

Characteristic for the widows triggerfish are the whitish, transparent and black-rimmed dorsal and anal fin, and the pink in the back half of the caudal fin. Their body color is greenish, pectoral fins and mouth region are yellowish. The fish are 35 inches long.

Fins formula: Dorsal III/31-35, Anal 28-31