Clown triggerfish

Balistoides conspicillum

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth8–30 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and December
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The clown triggerfish, also known as the bigspotted triggerfish, is a demersal marine fish.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Clown triggerfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 123 records
February: 149 records
March: 204 records
April: 199 records
May: 169 records
June: 146 records
July: 175 records
August: 127 records
September: 165 records
October: 178 records
November: 163 records
December: 182 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 8–30 m · Deepest record: 62 m

0–10 m: 31 records
10–20 m: 88 records
20–30 m: 67 records
30–40 m: 12 records
40–50 m: 5 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 18 records
26–28 °C: 19 records
28–30 °C: 56 records

Photos

(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Austen Novis, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) PampaSorro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Piotr Lukasik, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Clown triggerfish, bigspotted triggerfish, Big-spotted Trigger-fish, Big-spotted Triggerfish, clown triggerfish, Clown Trigger-fish, Pogo panau

Names in 8 more languages

German: Leopard-Drückerfisch
Spanish: Ballesta Payaso
Filipino: Pakoy, Papakol
French: Baliste clown, Baliste-clown, Baliste léopard
Japanese: Mongarakawahagi, モンガラカワハギ
Korean: 파랑쥐치
Thai: ปลาวัวตัวตลก
Simplified Chinese: 圓斑擬鱗魨, 小丑砲彈, 花斑擬板機魨, 花斑擬鱗魨

Other scientific names: Balistapus conspicillum, Balistes conspicillum, Balistoides conspicillium

Similar species

Titan triggerfish
Balistoides viridescens
Flat-tailed Trigger-fish
Abalistes stellatus
Orange-lined triggerfish
Balistapus undulatus
Rough triggerfish
Canthidermis maculata
Black Triggerfish
Sufflamen chrysopterum
Black durgon
Melichthys niger

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
956 open-data records from 1801 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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