fish identification

Hi, I've just returned from a holiday on the Algarve. While feeding the
mullet in a nearby harbour I spotted an unusual fish. Can anyone help
me identify it please?

It was shaped like a perch (round and plump in depth but quite slim in
width), silvery in colour but with distinctive large bright blue eyes
or eyebrows (dont laugh!) It had quite big lips and only one set of
triangular fins just in front of its tail, above and below, these were
also bright blue and both sets where the same size. When it swam its
fins waved alternatively. The mullet seemed afraid of it although it
wasnt much bigger than about 12" in length. It ate the bread but I also
saw it feeding off the barnacles on the harbour walls.

Would be very keen to find out what it is because I've searched fishy
pics and havent seen anything quite like it! An old chap who had a boat
in the harbour and was a keen fisherman hadnt a clue what it was either!

wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi, I've just returned from a holiday on the Algarve. While feeding the
mullet in a nearby harbour I spotted an unusual fish. Can anyone help
me identify it please?

It was shaped like a perch (round and plump in depth but quite slim in
width), silvery in colour but with distinctive large bright blue eyes
or eyebrows (dont laugh!) It had quite big lips and only one set of
triangular fins just in front of its tail, above and below, these were
also bright blue and both sets where the same size. When it swam its
fins waved alternatively. The mullet seemed afraid of it although it
wasnt much bigger than about 12" in length. It ate the bread but I also
saw it feeding off the barnacles on the harbour walls.

Would be very keen to find out what it is because I've searched fishy
pics and havent seen anything quite like it! An old chap who had a boat
in the harbour and was a keen fisherman hadnt a clue what it was either!



Fin structure, alternate waving of fins, blue eyes, feeding off
barnacles....
A juvenile gray triggerfish?
http://www.bluemarlin3.com/photoalbu...rfish-gray.jpg

Fin structure, alternate waving of fins, blue eyes, feeding off
barnacles....
A juvenile gray triggerfish?
http://www.bluemarlin3.com/photoalbu...rfish-gray.jpg

hmmm....you could be right, thats about as close as i've seen to it.
Thanks!

Just had a thought... isn't it rather unusual to find a fish like this
in a harbour in Portugal? According to the Florida Museum of Natural
History website
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Galler...iggerfish.html

they are mostly found around America and only occasionally around the
med.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Just had a thought... isn't it rather unusual to find a fish like this
in a harbour in Portugal? According to the Florida Museum of Natural
History website

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Galler...iggerfish.html

they are mostly found around America and only occasionally around the
med.


First of all it doesn't have be exactly the Gray Triggerfish. There are
numerous species of Triggerfish. But your description
came quite close to describing one, especially the top and bottom fins
waving alternately.
While triggerfish conjures up images of tropical fish as there are many
colorful ones in warm waters, in the U.S.
they can be found as far north as New York in the summer months.
I'm not sure why you would consider this fish unusual or in Portugal. In
Greece it is called gouroupsaro and Mih in Croatia.
The site you gave also gives the following common mames for the Gray
Triggerfish.
You'll note that there are French, Spanish, Italian names for it.

Common Names
English language common names include gray triggerfish, grey triggerfish,
filefish, leatherjacket, pig-faced, trigger-fish, triggerfish, common
triggerfish, and turbot. Other language common names include balista
(Rumanian), baliste (French), baliste cabri (French), ballesta (Spanish),
cachua (Spanish), cangulo (Portuguese), escopeta (Spanish), khanzyr
(Arabic), maracuguara (Portuguese), mola (Italian), mongarakawahagi
(Japanese), ndor (Wolof), peixe-mola (Portuguese), pejepuerco blanco
(Spanish), peje puerco (Spanish), penolera (Spanish), pesce palo (Italian),
pez ballesta (Spanish), porco (Portuguese), puerco (Spanish), roncon
(Spanish), sabaco (Spanish), schweinedruckerfisch (German), trekkervis
(Dutch), tryckarfisk (Swedish), and varraco (Spanish).

Musashi wrote:
wrote in message
Just had a thought... isn't it rather unusual to find a fish like this
in a harbour in Portugal? According to the Florida Museum of Natural
History website
they are mostly found around America and only occasionally around the
med.

First of all it doesn't have be exactly the Gray Triggerfish. There are
numerous species of Triggerfish. But your description
came quite close to describing one, especially the top and bottom fins
waving alternately.
While triggerfish conjures up images of tropical fish as there are many
colorful ones in warm waters, in the U.S.
they can be found as far north as New York in the summer months.
I'm not sure why you would consider this fish unusual or in Portugal. In
Greece it is called gouroupsaro and Mih in Croatia.

If you check the distribution maps in FishBase (click the AquaMaps link
to generate it) you will see that the Gray Triggerfish has an enormous
distribution on either side of the Atlantic. To see the actual data
points behind the generated map click the "Point Map".

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/spec...ry.php?id=7327

On the eastern side it is known up to the British Isles and almost down
to South Africa and on the western side from New Foundland to southern
Brazil.


Cheers