Grey triggerfish

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pez ballesta (Balistes capriscus), Parque natural de la Arrábida, Portugal, 2020-07-23, DD 24.jpg | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref=<ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author1=Liu, J. |author2=Zapfe, G. |author3=Shao, K.-T. |author4=Leis, J.L. |author5=Matsuura, K. |author6=Hardy, G. |author7=Liu, M. |author8=Tyler, J. |display-authors=3 |year=2015 |title=''Balistes capriscus'' |errata=2016 |article-number=e.T193736A97662794 |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Balistes capriscus | authority = J. F. Gmelin, 1789 <ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Bailly, Nicolas |year=2013 |title=''Balistes capriscus'' Gmelin, 1789 |id=154721 |accessdate=2014-02-20}}</ref> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=WoRMS/> | synonyms = {{collapsible list| *''Balistes buniva'' Lacepède, 1803 *''Balistes caprinus'' Valenciennes, 1839 *''Balistes capriscus'' Gronow, 1854 *''Balistes carolinensis'' Gronow, 1854 *''Balistes forcipatus'' Gmelin, 1789 *''Balistes fuliginosus'' DeKay, 1842 *''Balistes moribundus'' Cope, 1871 *''Balistes powellii'' Cope, 1870 *''Balistes spilotopterygius'' Walbaum, 1792 *''Balistes taeniopterus'' Poey, 1860 *''Nematobalistes forcipatus'' (Gmelin, 1789) }} }}

The '''grey triggerfish''' ('''''Balistes capriscus'''''), or '''gray triggerfish''', is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family Balistidae. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, and waters off Angola on the west coast of Africa.

In its appearance and habits, the grey triggerfish is a typical member of the genus ''Balistes'' except for its drab, uniformly grey coloration. It is a relatively small fish, usually less than {{convert|2.3|kg|1|abbr=on}} in weight. The Grey triggerfish is fished recreationally and, despite its tough skin, is an excellent food-fish.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fisheries |first1=NOAA |title=Gray Triggerfish {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/gray-triggerfish |website=NOAA |access-date=19 November 2023 |language=en |date=3 October 2023}}</ref> The species is classified as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN Red List.

==Taxonomy== The Grey triggerfish was first formally described in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin with its type locality given as the Western North Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Balistes|access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref> This species is classified in the genus ''Balistes'' which is the type genus of the family Balistidae, a family classified in the suborder Balistoidei in the order Tetraodontiformes.<ref name = ECoF>{{cite web |url=https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/catalog-of-fishes-classification/ |title=Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Classification |access-date=18 October 2024 |work=Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes |publisher=California Academy of Sciences}}</ref>

==Etymology== The grey triggerfish is classified in the genus ''Balistes'', a name which refers to the first spine of the dorsal fin being locked in place by the erection of the shorter second trigger spine, and unlocked by depressing the second spine. ''Balistes'' is taken directly from the Italian ''pesca ballista'', the "crossbow fish". ''Ballista'' originally being a machine for throwing arrows. The specific name ''capriscus''is Latin for a "small goat", an allusion Gmelin did not explain, and it is likely to be a mistranslation of its Greek name dating to Aristotle, ''kápros'', which means "boar" or ''kaprískos''. its diminutive, an allusion to its sharp, powerful and perhaps also to a boar-like ferocity, as described by the Roman author and naturalist Claudius Aelianus in ''De Natura Animalium'', "they fight even with fish of greater bulk and with the most skilled fishermen".<ref name = ETYFFish>{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/tetraodontiformes2/ |title=Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families MOLIDAE, BALISTIDAE, MONACANTHIDAE, ARACANIDAE and OSTRACIIDAE |date=21 August 2024 |access-date=20 October 2024 |author=Christopher Scharpf |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== thumb|In Malta, showing forehead markings The grey triggerfish is principally a fish of shallow waters in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its native range extends from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda, and southwards to Argentina. It is typically found over hard bottoms on reefs and rocky areas, in lagoons and in bays, at depths down to about {{convert|55|m|0|abbr=on}}. It is also found on the other side of the Atlantic, around the British Isles, in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of Angola.<ref name=FLMNH>{{cite web |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/graytriggerfish/graytriggerfish.html |title=Gray triggerfish |author=Bester, Cathleen |publisher=Florida Museum of Natural History |access-date=2014-02-20}}</ref> It may have crossed the Atlantic as a result of the movement of water in the Gulf Stream and breeds in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2723 |title=Trigger fish: ''Balistes capriscus'' |author=Reeds, Kate |year=2008 |publisher=Marine Life Information Network |access-date=2014-02-20}}</ref>

Once considered to be an uncommon visitor to northern European seas, an increase in records around the Cornish coast, may indicate it is now breeding there;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gainey |first1=P A |title=Marine and Estuarine Fish. In Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly |date=2009 |publisher=Croceago Press |location=Praze-an-Beeble |isbn=978-1-901685-01-5 |page=553 |edition=2nd}}</ref> in addition, it has been found in other areas along the coast of Great Britain in recent years, suggesting that its range is continuing to expand northwards, with one caught as far north as the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-09-10 |title=Triggerfish {{!}} British Sea Fishing |url=https://britishseafishing.co.uk/triggerfish/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Description== thumb|''Balistes capriscus'' thumb|Grey triggerfish at night The grey triggerfish is a medium-sized fish that can grow to {{convert|60|cm|0|abbr=on}}, but a more common length is {{convert|44|cm|0|abbr=on}}. The small beak-like mouth at the tip of the snout has fleshy lips. The eyes are set far back near the top of the head. The body is laterally compressed and deep-bodied with a tough, leathery skin. The front dorsal fin has three spines, the first being very strong and much longer than the other two. The second dorsal fin has 26 to 29 soft rays and is much the same size and shape as the anal fin directly below it which has no spines and 23 to 26 soft rays. The pectoral fins are small and rounded. The outer rays of the caudal fin are elongated in larger individuals. The scales on the head and front half of the body are large while those on the hind half are smaller and smooth.<ref name="FishBase">{{FishBase |genus=Balistes |species=capriscus |year=2006 |month=June}}</ref><ref name="FLMNH" />

This fish is predominantly pale grey, greenish-grey or yellowish-brown. The body has three indistinct broad dark bars and there is a pale streak on the chin. The upper part of the orbit of the eye is blue and there are some small blue spots and lines on the dorsal fins and upper parts of the body, and sometimes white dots and irregular lines on the lower parts of the body. Both the second dorsal and the anal fin present a somewhat marbled appearance. The body colour fades a little as the animal gets older: juveniles are more colourful.<ref name="FishBase" /><ref name="FLMNH" />

==Behaviour== [[File:Cardume peixe porco Berlengas.jpg|thumb|School of grey triggerfish on the Berlengas archipelago, Portugal]] Locomotion in the grey triggerfish is by means of undulations of the dorsal fins. If threatened, the fish can work its way into a protective crevice and wedge itself in place by erecting its front dorsal spine. It is difficult to dislodge from this position. The second spine is connected to the first and when it is depressed, it triggers the unlocking of the first spine.<ref name=FLMNH/>

The grey triggerfish is a demersal species and feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates such as shrimps, crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, sand dollars, starfish and sea cucumbers. It has strong teeth specialised for making holes in hard-shelled prey. An interesting feeding behaviour has been observed, in which the fish positions itself vertically above a sandy seabed and puffs a stream of water out of its mouth. This disturbs the substrate and may reveal something edible. Further puffs expose more, and the prey item is gripped with the fish's sharp teeth and removed from the seabed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Triggerfish, Gray |url=https://safmc.net/species/triggerfish-gray/ |website=South Atlantic Fishery Management Council |access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref> If it is a sand dollar, the fish drops it and picks it up again several times until the prey lands upside down. The fish then adopts its vertical stance once more and attacks the middle with closed jaws, crushing the soft central area. It then scoops out and devours the flesh.<ref name=FLMNH/>

Males develop a charcoal grey colouration and are highly territorial during the breeding season, which commences in summer when the water temperature reaches about {{convert|21|°C}}. The males prepare up to a dozen nests in hollows blown out of sandy seabed<ref>[http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/graytriggerfish/graytriggerfish.html Florida Museum of Natural History site]</ref> and then patrol the area, driving unwanted fish away. The females roam around inspecting the nest sites. When a female is ready to spawn, both male and female enter a nest and tightly circle round each other while she lays large numbers of minute eggs and he fertilises them. The female stays in the nest, guarding the eggs and blowing and fanning them. The male defends his territory, which may contain other nests with females guarding their eggs. In this way, the male exhibits harem behaviour.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Simmons, Carrie M. |author2=Szedlmayer, Stephen T. |year=2012 |title=Territoriality, Reproductive Behavior, and Parental Care in Gray Triggerfish, ''Balistes capriscus'', from the Northern Gulf of Mexico |journal=Bulletin of Marine Science |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=197–209 |doi=10.5343/bms.2011.1012 |bibcode=2012BuMS...88..197S }}</ref> Wrasses and red snappers sometimes feed on the eggs which, if they survive that long, hatch after about fifty hours. The fish larvae migrate up towards the surface of the water where they often become part of the community depending on floating ''sargassum'' weed. There they feed on algae, barnacles, hydroids and polychaete worms. In the autumn, when they reach about {{convert|15|cm|0|abbr=on}}, the juvenile fish leave the ''sargassum'' and sink down to the sea bed.<ref name=FLMNH/>

==Recreational fishing== thumb|Sketch of grey triggerfish The grey triggerfish is fished recreationally around Florida and elsewhere. It is known as a notorious bait stealer and is found over hard bottom in {{convert|20|to|40|m|0|abbr=on}} depths off the Atlantic Coast of Florida, often in association with black sea bass and red snapper. Because of its bony mouth it needs a small sharp hook which is usually baited with squid or cut bait.<ref name=Flo>{{cite web |url=https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/gray-triggerfish/ |title=Gray triggerfish: ''Balistes capriscus'' |work=Fishing: Recreational regulations |publisher=Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission }}</ref> The flesh is of high quality but the consumption of this fish has been linked to isolated cases of ciguatera poisoning.<ref name=FLMNH/> ===Fishing records=== {| class="wikitable" |+ !Authority !Weight !Date/Location !Refs |- | Florida State | {{cvt|12|lb|7|oz}} | July 15, 2001 near Pensacola |<ref name=Flo/> |- | IGFA | {{cvt|6.15|kg|lboz}} | 3 May 1989 Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, USA |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Triggerfish,%20grey|title=Triggerfish, grey (''Balistes capriscus'')|series=All Tackle World Records|publisher=International Game Fish Association}}</ref> |- | BRFC | {{cvt|2.859|kg|lboz|order=flip}} | 2002 0.5 mile off Tywyn Beach, Wales |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anglingtrust.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BRFC_SEA_FISH_LISTINGS_July-2021.pdf|title=Sea Fish Records |series=All Tackle World Records|publisher=The Angling Trust}}</ref> |- | Maryland | {{cvt|5.6|lb}} | 30 October 2019 16 miles offshore |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2019/10/31/ocean-city-angler-catches-record-gray-triggerfish/|title=Ocean City Angler Catches Record Gray Triggerfish |publisher=Maryland DNR}}</ref> |- | Virginia | {{cvt|6|lb|12|oz}} | November 1, 2017 off Virginia Beach |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mrc.virginia.gov/vswft/state_records/VA-state-record_gray-triggerfish_11-01-17.pdf|title=State Record Gray Triggerfish Certified |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia}}</ref> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{sealifephotos|154721}}

grey triggerfish Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Category:Fish of the Black Sea Category:Marine fish of Europe Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Category:Game fish grey triggerfish Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin Category:Fish of Aruba Category:Marine fish of Nicaragua