Author: Linnaeus, 1758

Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758

Diagnosis: dorsal finrays III + 1-2, 27-28; anal finrays 2, 25-27; second dorsal much elevated anteriorly in adults. Scales in median, horizontal series 58-66. Colour: yellowish-green to dark brown, orange-yellow ventrally. Size: to 50 cm SL.

Habitat: on reefs and on sandy and grassy areas, down to 275 m. Behaviour: solitary or in schools. Food: sea-urchins and other invertebrates. Reproduction: no data.

Distribution: the Azores. Elsewhere, central and western Atlantic and Indo-western Pacific.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Tetraodontiformes
Suborder Balistoidei
Family Balistidae
Genus Balistes
Species Balistes vetula

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758

Scientific synonyms and common names

Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms:

Balistes Vetula Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. X: 329 ('Habitat ad insulam Ascensionis'). Type: LS no. 127.
Balistes vetula: Fowler, 1936, 2: 1087 Smith, (1949b)1950: 407, pl. 89 (fig. 1157) Böhlke & Chaplin, 1968: 664, fig. Randall, 1968: 258, fig. 290.


Common names:

baliste royal [Fr]
pejepuerco cachuo [Es]
queen triggerfish [En]

Böhlke, J. E.; Chaplin, C. C. G. 1968. Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters, Philadelphia: xxiii + 771 p., fig. 1-223, 511 fig. n. num., pl. 1-36, 7 pl. (plain) n. num.

Fowler, H. W. 1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-1915. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: vii + 606 p., fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18, 1936: 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae, ed. X, vol. 1, 824 p. Nantes & Pisces: 230-338. (Reprint, 1956, London.)

Randall, J. E. 1968. Caribbean Reef Fishes. T.F.H. Publ., Jersey City: 318 p., 324 fig.

Smith, J. L. B. 1949b. The sea fishes of southern Africa. South Africa, 580 p., 111 pl., 1232 fig. (other editions: 1950, 1953, 1961, 1965, 1970).

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