Trigger-Fish

Balistes carolinensis Gmelin

Appears in

North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

About

Family Balistidae

Portuguese: Peixe porco, Cangulo
Spanish: Pez ballesta
French: Baliste
Dutch: Trekkervis
Other: Leather-jacket; Grey trigger-fish; Turbot (Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas)

REMARKS Maximum length 60 cm. A dark fish, usually greenish- or greyish-brown. The ‘trigger’ is the third spine of the front dorsal fin, which has to be depressed before the first spine can be folded down.

This is really a species of tropical or near-tropical waters, but its range on the European side of the Atlantic extends to the English Channel and SW Ireland; and on the American side it sometimes strays as far north as Massachusetts. There are various kindred species, such as those called queen triggerfish and ocean trigger-fish on the American side.

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Part of

Miscellaneous Uncouth Fish

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