I came across this stunning Queen Triggerfish in the Bahamas while snorkeling at Rose Island Reef. I’d never seen one before and was pretty captivated by him! I believe that the tiny fish inside the cave where he is heading are freshly hatched juvenile Queen Triggerfish. Divers should be cautious around these fish because they are aggressively defensive of their territory and can inflict a very strong bite; especially when they are protecting their eggs, or their young.
Queen Triggerfish dart into crevasses when threatened, and lock their dorsal fin in place to prevent predators from pulling them out. They also can produce an audible warning from special membranes, warning other fish to keep away. The strong jaws of the triggerfish enable it to crush and eat sea urchins and shelled prey like clams, snails, sea squirts, crabs and shrimp. The queen triggerfish preys on sea urchins by creating water currents that overturns the urchin, making it vulnerable by exposing the underside where the spines are short. They have teeth that never stop growing: there are eight sharp teeth at the front of the mouth, six teeth behind those, and molar-like grinding teeth in the throat. Happily, I didn’t get bit by this one!
In villages of Brazil, parts of this fish are used in traditional medicine in the treatment of asthma, ear aches, and strokes.