| Family: |
Balistidae (Triggerfishes) |
| Max. size: |
100 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; marine; depth range 3 - 36 m |
| Distribution: |
Eastern Pacific from Baja California to Ecuador. Reported from Peru (Ref. 9276) and Chile (Ref. 9068). |
| Diagnosis: |
Body compressed and moderately deep; skin thick, with large, rectilinear, plate-like scales, some of them spiny, that are easily visible to the naked eye; mouth small; teeth strong and protruding, 8 in each jaw; snout with a naked scale-less area behind the jaws; dorsal fin with 3 spines and more than 25 rays; scales located behind the gill openings much larger than the surrounding scales (Ref. 55763). |
| Biology: |
Found around reefs and over sandy bottoms of shallow waters (Ref. 9276). Feeds on sea urchins, small crustaceans and mollusks, often blowing into sand to uncover prey or turn over urchins (Ref. 5227). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 01 May 2008 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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