English Name: Boomerang triggerfish
Family: BALISTIDAE
Local Name: Dhon falhu rondu
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Size: Max. 20 cm
Specimen: MRS/0345/89
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 3 spines and 27-29 rays. Anal fin with 25-27 rays. Pectoral fin with 13-14 rays. Dorsal and ventral profiles of head nearly straight. Cheeks scaled. Prominent groove in front of the eye. Longitudinal scale ridges on posterior part of the body extending forward to the middle of the body. Caudal fin truncate to slightly rounded.
Colour: Greyish brown, pale below. A white line from corner of mouth to anal fin origin. Two dark curved bars posteriorly on head which may be either yellow or black.
Habitat and Biology: Usually in reef flats and reef slopes. Omnivorous, feeding on algae and a wide variety of small benthic invertebrates.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Remarks: Sufflamen hursa is a common inhabitant in the Maldivian reefs. It is readily distinguished from the similar sized and shaped S. chrysopterus (next page) by colour. S. chrvsopterus is dark brown.