Sunday Sketch: Blackbelly Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus verrucosus, also known as triggerfish, are durophagous, which means that they eat hard shelled and tough prey like snails or clams. To accommodate this diet, they possess extremely strong jaws with very large muscles relative to other fish.

[Edited by Nicole Rodrigues]

Reference:

McCord, C.L. and Westneat, M.W. (2016), Evolutionary patterns of shape and functional diversification in the skull and jaw musculature of triggerfishes (Teleostei: Balistidae). Journal of Morphology, 277: 737-752. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20531

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