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Related FAQs: Rhinecanthus species,
Rhinecanthus Triggers 2,
Rhinecanthus Trigger ID,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Behavior,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Compatibility,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Selection,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Systems,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Feeding,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Disease,
Rhinecanthus Trigger Reproduction,
Triggerfishes
in General,
Triggerfish:
Identification,
Selection,
Selection 2, Compatibility,
Behavior,
Systems, Feeding,
Diseases, Triggerfish
Health 2,
Related Articles: Triggerfishes (Family Balistidae),
Red
Sea Triggerfishes, Triggers of the Cook
Islands,
/The Best Livestock for A Marine Aquarium (Series)
Triggerfishes of the Genus
Rhinecanthus, Picassos, Humas, Assassins, Natural Reef Animals All
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by Bob Fenner
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Rhinecanthus assasi
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The genus Rhinecanthus: seven valid species.
Undoubtedly the most utilized genus of Triggerfishes for their small sizes (maximum
about a foot) and relatively easy-going personalities are the Rhinecanthus spp.
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Rhinecanthus abyssus Matsuura & Shiobara 1989, the Deepwater
Triggerfish. Western Pacific. To about eight inches in length.
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The most
popular Rhinecanthus species is immortalized in the song of none other than Don Ho himself. This is the
Humuhumu nukunuku apua’a (literally "water pig with a needle" in Hawaiian,
in reference to grunting noise they make and their spiny dorsal "trigger"), AKA
the Picasso or Lagoon Trigger (aka the "Blackbar" to science), Rhinecanthus aculeatus
(Linnaeus 1758). Below, one inch baby in the wild (Maldives), two and six inch specimens in captivity shown.
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From further out in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea
comes another "Picasso", or (preferably) the Assasi Trigger, Rhinecanthus assasi
(Forsskal 1775). This one in the Red Sea. To one foot in length.
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Rhinecanthus cinereus (Bonnaterre 1788), Strickland's Triggerfish.
Western Indian Ocean, Maldives, Andaman Sea and Mauritius.
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One of the most rare members of the family, the Halfmoon Picasso or Crescent Trigger, Rhinecanthus lunula
Randall & Steene 1983, can be had for a few hundred
dollars out of Fiji or Australia.
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The Rectangle or Reef Triggerfish ("Wedge-Tail Triggerfish" to
science), Rhinecanthus rectangulus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)shares the waters and common Humu name with the Picasso
in Hawai’i. Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, east African coast. Shown here as a
baby and adult in
Hawai'i. To one foot in length.
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The very similar Bursa ("Blackbelly" to science) Triggerfish,
Rhinecanthus verrucosus (Linnaeus 1758), comes to us from out
of the Philippines and Indonesia.
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| A new species! It's Rhinecanthus cookensis Fenner
2000, the "Humuhumu nukunuku a Pot Holder". Amazingly, I found
this specimen in the kitchen! To about a foot in length, and very handy
for picking up hot objects. |
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