Picasso Triggerfish

Picasso Triggerfish
Rhinecanthus Aculeatus

A sharp little reef character in mustard yellow, white, black and blue, the Picasso Triggerfish seems to have been assembled from bold shapes rather than painted in gradual shades. A dark band cuts across the eye, while pale blue lines curl around the face and a yellow patch runs along the snout. Behind the head, broad black markings break up the body into angular blocks, giving this chunky fish an unmistakably graphic personality. It looks permanently alert, as though it has somewhere important to be.

• Size: Up to around 30 cm
• Range: Indo-Pacific; from East Africa through northern Australia to Hawaii, the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan
• Habitat / Depth: Reef flats and shallow protected lagoons, from the surface to around 50 m
• Diet: Feeds on algae, detritus, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, sea urchins, small fishes, corals, tunicates and other reef organisms