Blunthead Triggerfish Photos and Species Information for Fish Caught in Mexico
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"Mexico Fishing News" and see hundreds of other fish pictures and species information by clicking here for our main Fish Photo List.
Blunthead Triggerfish, Stone Triggerfish
Cochito Bota
(Pseudobalistes naufragium)
Fish Identification Photos: Blunthead Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes naufragium: The Blunthead Triggerfish has a unique body profile that is pale blue gray to browning gray in color with several alternating light and dark wide bars on the sides.
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The Blunthead Triggerfish has a small mouth, a deep groove in front of the eye, white gill openings, and a rounded tail.
The Blunthead Triggerfish inhabits rocky reefs and slopes with bounders adjacent to sand. It is similar to the seldom seen Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish, Canthidermis maculates, and the Finescale Triggerfish, Balistes polylepis, both of which have fairly similar shapes but concave tails.
The Blunthead Triggerfish is the largest of the triggerfish found in Mexican waters and reaches approximately 38 inches and 20 pounds. On light tackle it might be the toughest foe pound-for-pound in the sea. It is found between 10 and 100 feet deep in the water column.
In Mexican waters, the Blunthead Triggerfish is found from Magdalena Bay south along the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez and along the coast of the Mexican mainland south to Guatemala. A note of caution: beware the "chomp" when handling these fish. They can bite like hell.
The Blunthead Triggerfish is a member of the Balistidae Family which are known in Mexico as cochitos.
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Blunthead Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes naufragium: Donated to MexFish.com by the commercial fishermen of La Playita, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Size 15 inches. Note the head profile of this fish, more similar to its close relative the Finescale Triggerfish, Balistes polylepis. Photo courtesy of John Snow.
Blunthead Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes naufragium: Caught by commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Size 21 inches. Photo courtesy of John Snow.
Blunthead Triggerfish, Pseudobalistes naufragium: Caught at La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, August 2005. Weight, 11 pounds. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Roldan, Tailhunter International. |
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