What Type of Body Shape & Tail Shape Do the Triggerfish & Hawkfish Have?

Triggerfish and hawkfish are tropical fish with very different body structures. While triggerfish inhabit tropical and sub-tropical oceans such as the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, with a larger concentration in the latter, the hawkfish is found only in the tropical oceans, in the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific and the western and eastern Atlantic.

  1. Triggerfish Anatomy

    • A queen triggerfish swimming above the reef

      The triggerfish are part of the Tetraodontiformes order and belong to the family Balistidae. All species of triggerfish have a round or oval-shaped, extremely compressed or laterally flat body with a large, angular-shaped head that ends in strong jaws and teeth. Its small eyes, set back on the top of its head, can rotate independent of each other. The tail or the posterior fin often ends in a sickle-shaped caudal fin. These fish also have enlarged dorsal and anal fins but no visible pelvic fins, which have melded together to form a spine.

    Triggerfish Facts

    • The name "triggerfish" refers to its ability to lock and erect the first two spines of its dorsal fin. The larger first spine, called the anterior dorsal fin, can be erected and locked in place when a second, shorter spine -- the "trigger" fin -- is erected. When the second trigger spine is "depressed," the first one unlocks again, as a defense mechanism used by the fish when confronted with a predator or when it needs to hide.

    Hawkfish Anatomy

    • A falco hawkfish resting on a coral reef

      Hawkfish, from the family Cirrhitidae, are members of the group of fish called Perciformes and closely resemble the family of fish known as Scorpaenidae. All species of hawkfish share the same anatomical structure: a somewhat stretched out but thick body ending in a squared off or truncated tail. On its large head, it has visible pectoral fins and a fused dorsal fin. The hawkfish's first dorsal fin contains 10 connected spines with small tufts of tissue on the tip of each spine and 11 to 17 soft rays, while the anal fin has three spines and five to seven soft rays.

    Hawks of the Sea

    • The hawkfish gets its name from its hunting techniques, which resemble that of a hawk; this is also the source of the fish's nickname, the "hawks of the sea." Its family name, Cirrhitidae, comes from the Latin word "cirrus," meaning "fringe," because of the fringes or tufts at the tips of its 10 dorsal fin spines and behind its nostrils.