Tag Archives: Trumpetfish

Pacific trumpetfish and yellow tang

trumpetfish and yellow tang

Pacific trumpetfish have the ability to change their coloration according to their surroundings. In this case, the trumpetfish has turned yellow to blend in with a shoal of yellow tang, one of the most common fish on the reef.

So why bother with this subterfuge? Trumpetfish are predators, feeding mostly on small fish and some crustaceans. Appearing to be one of the crowd allows it to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. And while the very different shape of the trumpetfish might make it seem like it’s prey would be sure to spot it, from the front, which is where the prey is going to be, trumpetfish are very hard to spot.

Pacific trumpetfish

A Pacific trumpetfish changes color to blend in with its surroundings
Pacific trumpetfish are one of those fish that like to blend in with the crowd. Their color can vary from yellow to black depending on which fish they’re trying to mimic. The can also display vertical bars or horizontal stripes. Oftentimes, they’re seen hanging upside down in the water. The purpose of all this subterfuge is to sneak up on their prey which is mostly other fish.

This one was in horizontal bar mode and on a horizontal trajectory, but not with any quarry in sight, unless I was its intended victim. I think I’d be a bit hard to swallow.