Reef triggerfish

"Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" redirects here. For Rhinecanthus aculeatus, the similar triggerfish, see Lagoon triggerfish. For the song, see My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii.

Reef triggerfish
An illustration of the fish present on the fishes of Hawaii made in 1852
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Balistidae
Genus: Rhinecanthus
Species:
R. rectangulus
Binomial name
Rhinecanthus rectangulus

The reef triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus), also known as the rectangular triggerfish, wedgetail triggerfish[2] or by its Hawaiian name humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (pronounced [ˈhumuˈhumuˈnukuˈnukuˈwaːpuˈwɐʔə], meaning 'triggerfish with a snout like a pig',[3] also spelled humuhumunukunukuapua'a or just humuhumu for short), is one of several species of triggerfish. It is found in coral reefs in the entirety of the Western Pacific Ocean from North to South and Eastern Central Pacific. It is also found it the Indian Ocean from East to West and the Southeast Atlantic Ocean. It exists in 0 to 50 meters in depth.[4]

The distribution of the reef triggerfish across multiple oceans.
  1. ^ Matsuura, K. (2022). "Rhinecanthus rectangulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T193713A2264564. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T193713A2264564.en. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Wedgetail Triggerfish - Rhinecanthus rectangulus - Triggerfishes - Reef Triggerfish - Hawaii Reefs". reefguide.org. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  3. ^ humuhumunukunukuapua'a. humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (n.d.) American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011). Accessed on The Free Dictionary. Retrieved on 2015-05-18.
  4. ^ Matsuura, K. (November 2014). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyol Res. 62: 72–113. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5.