Clown Triggerfish

Clown Triggerfish are found around the Indo-Pacific region on the outskirts of reefs, as this is the ideal location to hunt small reef fish which makes up the majority of their diet. They also enjoy living in reefs because it allows for lots of hiding places which the triggerfish will wedge themselves into using their dorsal fin and mouth, so once they are wedged in it is near impossible for a predator to pull them out.

The Clown Triggerfish have lots of notable features that are very unique. They get their name from its spots, lines, and head markings which make it look almost like it is wearing clown makeup. The top has a leopard printed pattern which blends in with the coral when looking from above and their bottom is made up of white circles which look like the light hitting the surface, so they are hard to spot from below helping them to invade predators.

Clown Triggerfish have very strong jaws that help them to eat a wide variety of animals such as sea urchin and shelled animals. They have eight sharp teeth at the front of their mouth and grinding teeth in their throat. They must have hard food like this in their diet because their teeth never stop growing so need to be constantly ground down. They also have the strange ability to move their different eyes independently so are able to spot food and predators from all directions.