Appearance
The triggerfish's teeth and top lip are blue and the teeth are set close together inside its relatively chubby mouth, it has a small second spine, which it can use to lock its main spine into an upright position.
Naming
''Humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa'' means "triggerfish with a pig-like short snout". It is not, as often claimed, the longest fish name in Hawaiian; that distinction belongs to ''lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi'' , the butterflyfish ''Forcipiger longirostris''.Distribution
The reef triggerfish is distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and it is especially prominent in the coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands.Status
''Humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa'' means "triggerfish with a pig-like short snout". It is not, as often claimed, the longest fish name in Hawaiian; that distinction belongs to ''lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi'' , the butterflyfish ''Forcipiger longirostris''.Behavior
One particularly interesting aspect of the fish's behavior is the ability to blow jets of water from its mouth. These jets help the fish find benthic invertebrates that may be buried under the substrate. Triggerfish can often be seen spitting sand from their mouths in order to sift through the material in search of edible detritus or organisms.Reef triggers are fairly aggressive and will generally not tolerate conspecific species in its general vicinity, thus the fish is often found solitary.
This is particularly true in captivity. Triggers have the remarkable ability to rapidly alter their coloration. They can fade into a relatively drab appearance when sleeping or demonstrating submission while the coloration is often the most vivid when the fish is healthy and unthreatened by its surrounding.
Defense
The triggerfish can wedge itself into small crevices and lock its spine to make it extremely difficult to get out. In addition, when fleeing from predators, the triggerfish will sometimes make grunting noises, possibly a call to warn other nearby triggerfish of danger.Cultural
The 1933 popular song "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii" included the Hawaiian name in its refrain, and a song of this title was included in the film ''High School Musical 2''.The fish's name was also included in a scene from the movie ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'', although pronounced slightly incorrectly by the actor.
The species also features in an episode of the animated underwater children's TV series ''The Octonauts'', where the characters repeatedly learn how to pronounce its Hawaiian name.
Bugs Bunny uses the fish's name in "Wackiki Wabbit" to heckle a pair of starving castaways intent on catching him.
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