Pallid Triggerfish, Sufflamen bursa (Bloch & Schneider 1801)


Other Names: Boomerang Triggerfish, Boomerang Trigger-fish, Lei Triggerfish, Reef Triggerfish, Scimitar Triggerfish, Scythe Triggerfish

A Pallid Triggerfish, Sufflamen bursa, in Fiji. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A pale grey to brown triggerfish with a scythe-like or crescent-shaped brown to yellow band behind the eye, another through the pectoral-fin base, a white diagonal line behind the mouth, and a white chin and belly. The rear edge of the pelvic flap is black.

Video of a Pallid Triggerfish on a reef.

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Sufflamen bursa in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/772

Pallid Triggerfish, Sufflamen bursa (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

More Info


Distribution

From Ningaloo Reef, Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef, Western Australia, to Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef to South Solitary Island, New South Wales; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, reefs in the Coral Sea, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere, the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits areas with mixed coral, rubble and sand on seawards reefs.

Feeding

Feed on a range of benthic invertebrates including crabs, bivalve and gastropod molluscs, echinoids, tunicates, polychaete worms, along with algae and detritus.

Fisheries

Of minor commercial importance in parts of its range, and also collected for the aquarium industry.

Species Citation

Balistes bursa Bloch & Schneider 1801, Systema Ichthyologiae: 476. Type locality: Indian Ocean.

Author

Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Pallid Triggerfish, Sufflamen bursa (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. 292 pp.

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1986. Part VII Fishes. pp. 79-103 in Berry, P.F. (ed.). Faunal Surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef, northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 25: 1-106.

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.
Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. 201 pp.

Bloch, M.E. & Schneider, J.G. 1801. Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum. Berlin 584 pp. 110 pls.

Hutchins, J.B. 1994. A survey of the nearshore reef fish fauna of Western Australia's west and south coasts — The Leeuwin Province. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 46: 1-66 figs 1-6

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3)

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls.

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 3. Jawfishes - Sunfishes, Opistognathidae - Molidae. Melbourne : Zoonetics pp. 623–893.

Matsuura, K. 2001. Triacanthodidae, Triacanthidae, Balistidae. pp. 3902-3928 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Oxley, W.G., Ayling, A.M., Cheal, A.J. & Thompson, A.A. 2003. Marine surveys undertaken in the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, March-April 2003. Townsville : Australian Institute of Marine Science 59 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2

Russell, B.C., Larson, H.K., Hutchins, J.B. & Allen, G.R. 2005. Reef fishes of the Sahul Shelf. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Supplement 1 2005: 83-105

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37465078

Depth:3-90 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:25 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map