{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Balistes vetula - 01.jpg | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn |author=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 vetula'' |errata=2016 |article-number=e.T2539A97664057 |access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Balistes vetula | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | synonyms = {{Specieslist | Balistes bellus | Walbaum, 1792 | Balistes pellucidus | Hermann, 1804 | Balistes equestris | Gronow, 1854 | Balistes vetula trinitatis | Nichols & Murphy, 1914 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Balistes|vetula|month=June|year=2024}}</ref> }}
The '''queen triggerfish''' ('''''Balistes vetula''''') is a large triggerfish species found in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Its body coloration ranges from steel grey to olive green, but around the mouth are orange areas with striking electric blue rays. This species is commonly found in coral reefs or rocky bottoms of the sea. Its diet mainly composed of shelled invertebrates like crabs and sea urchins. When breeding, the queen triggerfish dig a sandpit with its fin to lay eggs and fiercely defend eggs. This species is an important food fish among Caribbean communities, often harvested by hook-and-lines or fish traps.
==Taxonomy== ''Balistes vetula'' was first formally described in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' published in 1758 with its type locality given as Ascension Island.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Balistes|access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref> In 1865 Pieter Bleeker designated this species as the type species of the genus ''Balistes''.<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof family|family=Balistidae|access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref> ''Balistes'' is the type genus of the family Balistidae, which is 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=20 October 2024 |work=Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes |publisher=California Academy of Sciences}}</ref>
== Etymology == ''Balistes vetula'' is the type species of 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 ''vetula'' means "old woman" or "old wife", the Latin cognate of ''vieja'', a Spanish name used in Cuba for this species which was recorded by the Cuban naturalist Antonio Parra in 1787. This name apparently follows a Portuguese tradition of some larger fishes common names which allude to women. George Shaw said "It is supposed to have obtained the popular title of Old Wife Fish from the appearance of the mouth when viewed in front, as well as from the slightly murmuring noise which it utters when first taken."<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>
== Description == left|thumb|A queen triggerfish found in the Bahamas, its striking electric blue rays around the mouth are clearly visible Among all triggerfishes, the queen triggerfish is a fairly large species, often reaches a total length of 45 centimeters.<ref name = florida/> The female tends to be larger than male.<ref name = rivera>{{Cite journal|title=Queen Triggerfish ''Balistes vetula'' Age-Based Population Demographics and Reproductive Biology for Waters of the North Caribbean|author1=Rivera Hernández, J.M|author2=Shervette, V.R|journal=Fishes|year=2024|volume=9|issue=2|page=162 |doi=10.3390/fishes9050162|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024Fishe...9..162R }}</ref> It is oval-shaped and laterally compressed, with small eyes close to the top of its head.<ref name = florida>{{Cite web|title=''Balistes vetula''|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/balistes-vetula/|website=Florida Museum of Natural History|publisher=University of Florida|author=Bester, C}}</ref> Despite having a small mouth, its jaw is extremely powerful and accompanied by sharp incisors. Compared to other larger triggerfishes with overlapped spread, such as grey triggerfish and ocean triggerfish, the queen triggerfish is easily recognizable with its color patterns. The body is generally steel grey to oval green, with orange parts below its mouth and pectoral fin. There are electric blue rays presented around its mouth, as well as dark blue lines radiating from its eyes. In addition, there's a visible blue line at the end of the caudal fin.<ref name = snyder>{{Cite book|title=Marine Fishes of Florida|author1=Snyder, D.B|author2=Burgess, G.H|year=2016|pages=312–315|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|doi=10.56021/9781421418728|isbn=978-1-4214-1872-8 }}</ref> Its first dorsal fin is triangular, with spines to stuck the fish into cervices when resting or escaping from predators. Its second dorsal fin and anal is very long and triangular, while its caudal fin is crescent-shaped.<ref name = florida/> The juvenile queen triggerfish has almost identical appearance, but is duller compared to an adult.<ref name = snyder/> It can change colour somewhat to match its surroundings, or if subjected to stress.<ref name="Humann">{{Cite book|title=Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas|last1=Humann|first1=Paul|last2=Deloach|first2=Ned|publisher=New World Publications|year=2002|isbn=978-1-878348-30-2|edition=Third|pages=394}}</ref>
== Distribution == The queen triggerfish could be found in the Atlantic waters, most commonly in warmer regions. In the Western Atlantic, its range spans from Massachusetts to Brazil, as well as the Caribbean Sea. It's most common in Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. While on the Eastern Atlantic, its range stretches from the Azores to Southern Angola.<ref name = florida/>
== Ecology == === Habitat === [[File:Queen Triggerfish (Balistes vetula) (36643563746).jpg|thumb|left|A queen triggerfish found in the coral reef around Cozumel Island, Mexico]] The queen triggerfish generally resides in rocky seabed or coral reefs, but is occasionally found in sandy seabed or seagrass meadows. It could inhabit in water as deep as 275m, but is most commonly found in much shallower water no deeper than 30m.<ref name = florida/>
===Feeding=== thumb|A front view of the queen triggerfish; It uses sharp incisors to crush hard shells of preys The queen triggerfish feeds on a variety of prey items, mainly on sea urchins, crabs and chitons, but also occasionally preys on shrimps, snails, bivalves, small fishes and brittle stars.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Dietary Shifts in the Queen Triggerfish, ''Balistes vetula'', in the Absence of its Primary Food Item, ''Diadema antillarum''|author1=Reinthal, P.N|author2=Kensley, B|author3=Lewis, S.M|journal=Marine Ecology|year=1984|volume=5|issue=2|pages=191–195|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0485.1984.tb00314.x |bibcode=1984MarEc...5..191R }}</ref> When feeding, it generally repeatedly bites the victim in order to crush its shell or detach it from the reef by sharp incisors. In this process, the queen triggerfish may swallow the prey and immediately split it out. Purposes of such behavior include to repositioning the prey for further bites or removing inedible parts. However, in occasions that it is foraging a more agile and fast-swimming prey, it would simply suck the prey into its mouth.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Morphological and functional bases of durophagy in the queen triggerfish, Balistes vetula (Pisces, tetraodontiformes)|author1=Turingan, R.G|author2=Wainwright, P.C|journal=Journal of Morphology|year=1993|volume=215|issue=2|pages=101–108|doi=10.1002/jmor.1052150202|pmid=29865433 }}</ref>
===Life cycle=== The queen triggerfish breeds throughout the year. Larger females are thought to be capable of releasing eggs more than 80 times a year. Most breedings occur around the full moon.<ref name = rivera/> It often migrates to a certain breeding ground for mating.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Home range and spawning migration patterns of queen triggerfish ''Balistes vetula'' in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands|author1=Bryan, D.B|author2=Feeley, M.W|author3=Nemeth, R.S|author4=Pollock, C|author5=Ault, J.S|journal=Marine Ecology|year=2019|volume=616|pages=123–139|doi=10.3354/meps12944 |bibcode=2019MEPS..616..123B }}</ref> When breeding, it digs a shallow sand pit on seabed with its fin and lays eggs inside. After that, parent fishes would intensively take care of eggs and become extremely aggressive and territorial. It may use a membrane below its pectoral fins to make noise alerting other animals to stay away.<ref name = snyder/> After hatching, larvae are often drifted away by ocean currents.<ref name = rivera/> On average, male reaches maturity when 2.7 years old, while female reaches maturity at 4 years old.<ref name = rivera/><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Queen Triggerfish Reproductive Biology in U.S. Caribbean Waters|author1=Rivera Hernández, J.M|author2=Peña Alvarado, N|author3=Correa Vélez, K|author4=Nemeth, R|author5=Appeldoorn, R|author6=Shervette, V.R|journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society|year=2019|volume=148|issue=1|pages=134–147|doi=10.1002/tafs.10124 |bibcode=2019TrAFS.148..134R }}</ref> The maximum lifespan of the queen triggerfish is still debated. An otolith study from 1980s claimed that it could only live for 7 years,<ref name = manooch>{{Cite journal|title=Age and growth of yellowtail snapper and queen triggerfish collected from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico|author1=Manooch III, C.S|author2=Drennon, C.L|volume=6|issue=1|year=1987|journal=Fisheries Research|pages=53–68 |doi=10.1016/0165-7836(87)90006-3|bibcode=1987FishR...6...53M }}</ref> while a later study of its growth pattern reports a lifespan of 14 years.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Age and Growth of the Queen Triggerfish ''Batistes vetula'' (Tetraodontiformes, Balistidae) Of The Central Coast of Brazil|author1=de Albuquerque, C.Q|author2=Martins, A.S|author3=Leite Jr, N.O|author4=Araújo, J.N|author5=Ribeiro, A.M|journal=Brazilian Journal of Oceanography|volume=59|issue=3|pages=231–239|year=2011|doi=10.1590/s1679-87592011000300003|doi-access=free}}</ref> Analysis of bomb radiocarbon proposes a much longer lifespan of 40 years at maximum.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Queen triggerfish Balistes vetula: Validation of otolith-based age, growth, and longevity estimates via application of bomb radiocarbon|author1=Shervette, V.R|author2=Rivera Hernández, J.M|author3=Clayton, J.A.B|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=17|issue=1|year=2022|article-number=e0262281 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0262281|doi-access=free |pmid=34995331 |pmc=8740979 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1762281S }}</ref>
===Predators & parasites=== In natural environment, main predators of queen triggerfishes are larger piscivorous reef fishes, such as jacks, groupers and sharks.<ref name = florida/> It is the host of whole variety of parasites including several species of copepods, isopods, leeches, tapeworms, flukes and nematodes.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Community ecology of the metazoan parasites of the grey triggerfish, ''Balistes capriscus'' Gmelin, 1789 and queen triggerfish ''B. vetula'' Linnaeus,1758 (Osteichthyes: Balistidae) from the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil|author1=Alves, D.R|author2=Paraguassú, A.R|author3=Luque, J.L|journal=Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria|volume=14|issue=2|pages=71–77|year=2005|pmid=16153348}}</ref>
==Relationship to humans== ===Interaction with divers=== Generally speaking, the queen triggerfish is shy toward divers and often swim away when approached. Occasionally, it may show curiosity and swim around divers.<ref name = florida/><ref name="Humann"/> However, it is incredibly aggressive when guarding eggs and could perform a nasty bite to divers if harassed.<ref name = florida/>
===As aquarium fish=== [[File:Atlantic coral reef exhibit Baltimore Aquarium Balistes vetula.jpg|thumb|A queen triggerfish kept in National Aquarium in Baltimore]] Due to its striking color, the queen triggerfish may be kept in an aquarium. Most individuals sold on market were captured from wild population in the Caribbeans.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The importance of the marine ornamental reef fish trade in the wider Caribbean|author=Brukner, A.W|journal=Revista de biología tropica|date=2005 |pmid=17465152|volume=53|issue=1|pages=127–137}}</ref> However, due to its large size and territoriality, it requires a very large tank so is rarely placed in private aquariums.<ref name = florida/>
===As food=== The queen triggerfish is a staple food fish for many Latin American communities on the coast of the Caribbean Sea,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Generalized additive models for categorical count data: An exploration of the decline of queen triggerfish ''Balistes vetula'' in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos|author1=Urquhart, J.P|author2=Olson, D.B|author3=Babcock, E.A|journal=Fisheries Management and Ecology|volume=30|issue=3|year=2023|pages=257–268|doi=10.1111/fme.12617 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023FisME..30..257U }}</ref> often harvested by hook-and-line or fish traps.<ref name = manooch/> Also, it is commonly found as bycatch of commercial longline fisheries.<ref name = iucn/> However, this fish may contain Ciguatoxin.<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid=37505722|doi=10.3390/toxins15070453|doi-access=free |pmc=10467118 |title=Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean: Reconciling the Multiplicity of Ciguatoxins and Analytical Chemistry Approach for Public Health Safety |date=2023 |last1=Pottier |first1=Ivannah |last2=Lewis |first2=Richard J. |last3=Vernoux |first3=Jean-Paul |journal=Toxins |volume=15 |issue=7 |page=453 }}</ref>
===Conservation=== Populations of queen triggerfish in the U.S. water and the Caribbean Sea are overall healthy. In addition to that, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands have protected its breeding grounds as no-take zones. However, its population in Brazilian water and the Gulf of Guinea has suffered disastrous decline, losing more than 90% of individuals since 1980s, primarily due to overfishing.<ref name = iucn/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Balistes vetula}} {{Wikispecies|Balistes vetula}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030831170027/http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/triggers/queen.php animal-world.com Page on queen triggerfish] * [http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/7/fish Aquarium Fish: Triggerfish] * {{sealifephotos|127397}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q302151}}
vetula Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Category:Fish described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Fish of Aruba Category:Marine fish of Nicaragua