Picasso Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus aculeatus

A living masterpiece of the reef, its sandy-beige body is splashed with bold black and electric blue lines, stretching from its curious eyes to the tail, while a sunny yellow patch crowns its dorsal fin like a painter’s final flourish. Laterally compressed and sturdy, it prowls the shallow reef with playful curiosity, snapping its powerful jaws at shelled prey, all while looking like a miniature, mobile abstract canvas gliding through the coral.

• Size: Up to 30 cm
• Range: Indo-Pacific; from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Marquesas Islands
• Habitat / Depth: Coral reefs and sandy areas of lagoons and coastal waters
• Diet: Omnivorous; feeds on a variety of reef invertebrates, algae, and small fish.