Clown Triggerfish

( Balistoides conspicillum )

The Clown or Bigspotted Triggerfish is a relatively small fish, growing up to 50cms long, with a head one third the size of its body length. Its background colour is black, with half of its body marked by large white spots which are reminiscent of a leopard. Its tiny mouth is ringed with yellow, and contains strong teeth enabling it to dine on tough-shelled crustacea, molluscs and echinoderms. The Clown Triggerfish is diurnal, solitary, and very territorial, and has been known to attack both fish and divers that trespass its patch. It can be found in tropical and subtropical marine waters of the Indian Ocean, throughout the Western Pacific and also the Caribbean.