While this public domain illustration doesn’t show it’s distinctive tail coloring, this is a pinktail triggerfish. They are reef-dwellers who prefer the Indo-Pacific region. They are dark green, almost black with whitish pink dorsal and tail fins. Balistes vidua can grow up to 40 cm or 16 inches long.
Those big teeth you see? They use those to crack open oysters and break off pieces of coral. At one time, they threatened the pearl fisheries of Ceylon.
This pinktail triggerfish illustration is from that 11th edition encyclopedia; which puts it into the public domain everywhere. The drawing below has been resized to fit the page, just click on it to retrieve the largest size we have.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
