Indian Triggerfish
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Indian Triggerfish
The Indian triggerfish (''Melichthys indicus''), also known as the black-finned triggerfish, has a brown body and black fins with white lines at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. It is found across the Indian Ocean. They can grow up to long. The Indian triggerfish usually feeds on hard-shelled mollusks and echinoderms, but some feed on algae and zooplankton. They are often very aggressive over their eggs, but are otherwise harmless. Indian triggerfish are very easy to keep at home, Some are peaceful but some are very aggressive towards other fish. These are not to be confused with the Hawaiian black triggerfish or black durgon ('' Melichthys niger''), which is often mistaken as being Indian triggerfish within the trade. The Indian triggerfish has never been found near Hawaii, but the two species bear a striking resemblance between each other because of the similar shape and coloration. References Indian triggerfish Fish of the Indian Ocean Indian triggerfish The ...
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John Ernest Randall
John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. He spent most of his career working in Hawaii. He died in April 2020 at the age of 95. Career John Ernest Randall was born in Los Angeles, California in May 1924, to John and Mildred (McKibben) Randall. In high school he acquired a love of marine fish after a visit to the tide pools of Palos Verdes and, after serving stateside in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army during the post- D-Day years of WWII,John Randall bio, The Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences. (http://www.auas-nogi.org/bio_randall_john.html) received his BA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1950. In 1955 he earned his Ph.D in ichthyology from the University of Hawaii. After spending two years as a research associate at the Bishop Museum in Honol ...
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Wolfgang Klausewitz
Wolfgang Klausewitz (20 July 1921 – 31 August 2018) was a German zoologist, ichthyologist, marine biologist and biohistorian. Early life Klausewitz was born in Berlin. He attended school in Berlin, then, in 1941, was sent as a soldier to North Africa, France, and Italy. He was captured by U.S. forces in 1945. From 1946 to 1947 he worked for the Field Investigations Agency. Professional career Between 1947 and 1952, he studied zoology, botany, anthropology, and psychology at the University of Frankfurt receiving his Ph.D. 1952 supervised by the herpetologist Robert Mertens. In 1948, he married Rita Willmann, who died in 1995. In 1954, he was put in charge of the fish section of the Naturmuseum Senckenberg. In 1971 he became head of the department zoology I (vertebrates) and 1980 deputy director of the Museum. He retired 1987 but remained active as an emeritus in the field of ichthyology and history of natural science. Klausewitz participated in several expeditions, including ...
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Dorsal Fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments, including most numerously fish, but also mammals such as cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), and even extinct ancient marine reptiles such as various known species of ichthyosaurs. Most species have only one dorsal fin, but some have two or three. Wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of large cetaceans to identify individuals in the field. The bony or cartilaginous bones that support the base of the dorsal fin in fish are called ''pterygiophores''. Functions The main purpose of the dorsal fin is to stabilize the animal against rollin ...
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Anal Fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as seen in sharks. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the spine and are supported only by muscles. Their principal function is to help the fish swim. Fins located in different places on the fish serve different purposes such as moving forward, turning, keeping an upright position or stopping. Most fish use fins when swimming, flying fish use pectoral fins for gliding, and frogfish use them for crawling. Fins can also be used for other purposes; male sharks and mosquitofish use a modified fin to deliver sperm, thresher sharks use their caudal fin to stun prey, reef stonefish have spines in their dorsal fins that inject venom, anglerfish use the first spine of their dorsal fin like a fishing rod to lu ...
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica, depending on the definition in use. Along its core, the Indian Ocean has some large marginal or regional seas such as the Arabian Sea, Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Andaman Sea. Etymology The Indian Ocean has been known by its present name since at least 1515 when the Latin form ''Oceanus Orientalis Indicus'' ("Indian Eastern Ocean") is attested, named after Indian subcontinent, India, which projects into it. It was earlier known as the ''Eastern Ocean'', a term that was still in use during the mid-18th century (see map), as opposed to the ''Western Ocean'' (Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic) before the Pacific Ocean, Pacific was surmised. Conversely, Ming treasure voyages, Chinese explorers in the Indian Oce ...
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Mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species. The proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied. Molluscs are the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs also live in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and habitat. The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8  taxonomic classes, of which two are entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are among the most neurologically advanced of all invertebrates—and either the giant squid or the colossal squid is the largest known invertebrate species. The gas ...
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Echinoderms
An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea lilies or "stone lilies". Adult echinoderms are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates. Echinoderms are the largest entirely marine phylum. The first definitive echinoderms appeared near the start of the Cambrian. The echinoderms are important both ecologically and geologically. Ecologically, there are few other groupings so abundant in the biotic desert of the deep sea, as well as shallower oceans. Most echinoderms are able to reproduce asexually and regenerate tissue, organs, and limbs; in some cases, they can undergo complete regeneration from a single limb. Geolo ...
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Algae
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular microalgae, such as ''Chlorella,'' ''Prototheca'' and the diatoms, to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelp, a large brown alga which may grow up to in length. Most are aquatic and autotrophic (they generate food internally) and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types, such as stomata, xylem and phloem that are found in land plants. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds, while the most complex freshwater forms are the ''Charophyta'', a division of green algae which includes, for example, ''Spirogyra'' and stoneworts. No definition of algae is generally accepted. One definition is that algae "have chlorophyll ''a'' as their primary photosynthetic pigment and lack a sterile covering of cells around thei ...
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Zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by currents in the ocean, or by currents in seas, lakes or rivers. Zooplankton can be contrasted with phytoplankton, which are the plant component of the plankton community ("phyto" comes from the Greek word for ''plant''). Zooplankton are heterotrophic (other-feeding), whereas phytoplankton are autotrophic (self-feeding). This means zooplankton cannot manufacture their own food but must eat other plants or animals instead — in particular they eat phytoplankton. Zooplankton are generally larger than phytoplankton, most are microscopic, but some (such as jellyfish) are macroscopic and can be seen with the naked eye. Many protozoans (single-celled protists that prey on other microscopic life) are zooplankton, including zooflagellates, fo ...
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Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At and up to , the o ...
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Melichthys Niger
The black triggerfish or black durgon (''Melichthys niger''), called ''Humuhumu'ele'ele'' in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins. From distance, it appears to be completely black. However, upon closer inspection with good lighting, one can see that it is actually mottled dark-blue/green coloration often with orange toward the front of the head. Black durgons are capable of changing color based on their surroundings.Hoover, John P. ''Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes''. Mutual Publishing, 2008 These are not to be confused with their cousins, the Indian triggerfish or black-finned triggerfish (''Melichthys indicus''), which are often mistaken as being black triggerfish within the aquarium trade. The Indian triggerfish has never been found near Hawaii, but bears a striking resemblance to the black triggerfish because of the similar shape and coloration. Range Circumtropical. Hawaii, up through Polynesia, westwa ...
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Melichthys
''Melichthys'' is a small genus in the triggerfish family ( Balistidae). Member species are found in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and even the Red Sea (''M. niger''). The Black triggerfish is the largest species in this genus at 45 cm in length and the Indian triggerfish is the smallest at 25 cm. ''Melichthys niger'' and ''Melichthys indicus'' are similar in appearance and are often confused. Species There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:Matsuura, K. (2014): Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. ''Ichthyological Research, 62 (1): 72-113.'' * ''Melichthys indicus'' J. E. Randall & Klausewitz, 1973 (Indian triggerfish) * ''Melichthys niger'' Bloch, 1786 (Black triggerfish) * ''Melichthys vidua ''Melichthys'' is a small genus in the triggerfish family ( Balistidae). Member species are found in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and even the Red Sea (''M. niger''). T ...
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