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| Common names: triggerfish (English), cochito (Espanol), chancho (Espanol), pejepuerco (Espanol) |
Pseudobalistes naufragium (Jordan & Starks in Jordan, 1895)
Blunthead triggerfish, Stone triggerfish
Body oblong, relatively deep, robust, compressed; cheeks without longitudinal grooves, naked at front, with scales smaller than those on body in separate rows on rear part; distinct groove before eye and below nostril; a small mouth that opens at the front, with powerful jaws made up of 8 heavy, outer teeth on the upper and lower jaws, teeth notched, uneven in size; gill opening a short slit on side before pectoral base; III dorsal spines, 1st can be locked erect, 2nd > ½ the size of 1st; dorsal rays III + 27; anal rays 24; pectoral rays 15-16; anterior rays of second dorsal and anal fins moderately elevated, longer than posterior rays; most rays of dorsal, anal and pectoral fins branched; tail base compressed, without spines, tubercles or ridges; rear margin of caudal fin double concave or rounded with slightly prolonged and pointed lobes; pelvic fins externally reduced to 4 pairs of large scales encasing end of pelvis; thick leathery skin, with regularly arranged diagonal scale plates; snout without scales around and behind mouth; a group of large, partly separated bony scales that form a thick membrane immediately behind gill opening; lateral line inconspicuous.
Pale blue grey to brownish grey, several alternating light and dark bars visible on side; gill opening white.
The largest triggerfish in the region, reaching 100 cm.
Inhabits rocky reefs, sometimes seen in adjacent rubble areas.
Depth: 3-35 m.
Southern Baja and the central Gulf of California to Chile, the Galapagos, Cocos and Malpelo.