BALISTIDAE


Rhinecanthus rectangulus
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)



Rhinecanthus rectangulus, 10.2 cm SL
(from Ryukyu Is, Japan; photo by Hirokazu Kishimoto)


Rhinecanthus rectangulus
(Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
Wedge-tail Triggerfish

D III + 22-25; A 20-22; P1 15-16.

No groove before eye. Scales enlarged above pectoral-fin base and just behind gill opening to form a flexible tympanum. Caudal peduncle with 4 rows of forwardly-curved spines. Color: a broad, oblique black band running on side of body from eye through gill opening to anterior part of anal-fn base; caudal peduncle with a black triangular blotch produced into a point below middle of soft dorsal fin. Size: maximum 25 cm. Distribution: widespread in Indo-West Pacific, from Red Sea to Marquesas Islands, north to southern Japan. Remarks: occurring in outer reefs and shallow seaward reefs.