Caribbean Fish Identification - Fish identification - Trunkfish

The next marine organism we're going to identify is the Trunkfish. Trunkfish, like all box fish, are distinguished by their hard triangular shaped body. The Trunkfish, the largest of the box fish found in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, is very distinctive looking. It has a very obvious hump on its back and the base of its tail is much longer than that of any other Trunkfish or Cowfish. Unlike the Cowfish it lacks the two protrusions above its eyes that give the Cowfish its horns. The color of a Trunkfish can vary from olive to yellow-brown to brown and even blue-gray or gray. They may or may not have obvious markings such as white spots on their bodies. They can range in size from twelve to seventeen inches with a maximum reported size of nineteen inches. Trunkfish are not a common fish in any part of the tropical waters around Florida, the Bahamas or Caribbean. When they are seen, they are often seen around sea grass beds, coral rubble areas and occasionally off shore reef areas. Their common depth range is three to thirty five feet although they have been reported as deep as a hundred and fifty feet. Trunkfish are thought to be open water mating fish. A male and a female will swim rapidly toward the surface and at the apex of their swim, release their eggs and *** into the water column. After releasing their gametes they swim quickly back down to the protection of the reef. The fertilized eggs then drift with the current until they hatch. Trunkfish feed on a variety of small invertebrates such as mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms and tunicates. Their tiny round mouths limit the size of the prey they can consume. That's the Trunkfish.