Sound Production and Associated Behavior in Triggerfishes

Abstract

Two Atlantic and five Pacific species of triggerfish produce sounds by movements of the pectoral fins against the side of the body. The behavior associated with sound production was observed in the field and in populations established in the laboratory. The sounds produced by all species when held by the hand underwater were analyzed and the pectoral fin-air bladder mechanism used to produce the sounds was studied principally by a series of ablation experiments.