The reef triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus), also known as the rectangular triggerfish, wedgetail triggerfish[1] or by its Hawaiian name humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (pronounced [ˈhumuˈhumuˈnukuˈnukuˈwaːpuˈwɐʔə], meaning 'triggerfish with a snout like a pig',[2] also spelled humuhumunukunukuapua'a or just humuhumu for short), is one of several species of triggerfish. It is found at reefs in the Indo-Pacific[3] and is the state fish of Hawaii.

Humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa
An illustration of the fish present on the fishes of Hawaii made in 1852
Rhinecanthus rectangulus, X-ray image
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Balistidae
Genus:	Rhinecanthus
Species:	R. rectangulus
Binomial name
Rhinecanthus rectangulus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)

The name humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa serves for both singular and plural descriptions. The fish shares its Hawaiian name with the lagoon triggerfish (R. aculeatus), another fish also found in the Indo-Pacific.

Description

The triggerfish's teeth and top lip are blue and the teeth are set close together inside its relatively plump mouth.

It has a small second dorsal spine which is used to lock its main spine into an upright position. When sheltering in a small crevice, this locking of its spine helps protect the fish against being extracted by a predator. When fleeing from predators, it sometimes makes grunting noises, possibly to warn other nearby triggerfish.[4]

The triggerfish can blow jets of water from its mouth to help it find benthic invertebrates buried under the substrate. It can often be seen spitting sand from its mouth to sift through the material for edible detritus or organisms.

Reef triggers, up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in length, are fairly aggressive and generally do not tolerate conspecific individuals in their general vicinity; thus the fish is often solitary. This is particularly true in captivity. They have the ability to rapidly alter their coloration. They can fade into a relatively drab appearance when sleeping or demonstrating submission, while their coloration is often the most vivid when they are healthy and unthreatened by their surroundings. They have also been known to bite and attack swimmers in their area, often around the ankle, sometimes leaving marks.

• 
  Juvenile reef triggerfish
• 
  Adult in Hāʻena State Park
• 
  The lagoon triggerfish, which shares the Hawaiian name humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa with the reef triggerfish.

Hawaii state fish

The reef triggerfish was originally designated the official fish of Hawaii in 1985,[5] but due to an expiration of a Hawaiian state law after five years, it ceased to be the state fish in 1990.[6] On April 17, 2006, bill HB1982 was presented to the Governor of Hawaiʻi, which permanently reinstated the reef triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa) as the state fish of Hawaii.[7] The bill passed into law on May 2, 2006, and was effective upon its approval.[8][9]

Decades prior to official recognition, humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa were considered a symbol of Hawai'i. The song My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii includes the line " . . .where the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa go swimming by . . ."

It is also featured prominently in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical 2 with a song of the same name.

References

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhinecanthus rectangulus.

• "Rhinecanthus rectangulus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 January 2006.
• "Marine Life Profile: Reef Triggerfish" (PDF). Waikiki Aquarium. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
• "Legislation to permanently establish as Hawaii state fish". Archived from the original on 10 July 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2006.
• "Hawaii may honor fish with long name". NBC News. Retrieved 18 April 2006.

External links

• Photos of Reef triggerfish on Sealife Collection

На других языках

[es] Rhinecanthus rectangulus

[ru] Углохвостый спинорог