Clown Triggerfish

ocean · reef fish · tropical

Bright and spotty. The clown triggerfish has a dark body covered in large white spots and bright yellow and blue stripes on its face. It looks like it's wearing colorful makeup, which is how it got its playful name.

Weird trigger jaw. This fish has a special locking jaw mechanism that it can trigger shut by raising a spine on its back. When threatened, it hides in a crevice and locks itself in place so predators can't pull it out.

Crunchy snack lover. Clown triggerfish eat hard-shelled creatures like sea urchins, mollusks, and crustaceans. Their strong teeth are perfectly designed to crunch through shells and spiky exteriors.

Feisty and bold. Despite being only about 20 inches long, clown triggerfish are super aggressive and will chase away much larger fish from their territory. They're fearless defenders of their homes on the reef.

Deep reef dweller. These fish live in deep coral reef environments in tropical oceans, usually at depths where the water is darker and cooler than the shallow reef zone.