---
title: "Pinktail Triggerfish"
description: "Melichthys vidua — Fish. The pinktail triggerfish (Melichthys vidua) is a species of triggerfish native to the Indo-Pacific region."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pinktail-triggerfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pinktail Triggerfish

> Melichthys vidua — Fish. The pinktail triggerfish (Melichthys vidua) is a species of triggerfish native to the Indo-Pacific region.

- Scientific name: *Melichthys vidua*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 2298
- Wikidata: [Q1119635](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1119635)
- iNaturalist taxon: [52411](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52411)

## Names

- en: Pinktail Triggerfish
- de: Witwen-Drückerfisch
- es: Ballesta de aleta rosada
- fr: Baliste à queue rose
- pt: Cangulo-de-cauda-rosa

## Countries with the most observations

US (872), ID (488), PF (173), PH (112), JP (46), MY (45), PW (45), CX (35), GU (32), TW (28), FJ (27), MP (25)

## Summary

The pinktail triggerfish (Melichthys vidua) is a species of triggerfish native to the Indo-Pacific region. It is very dark green (often appearing almost black), with translucent white anal and second dorsal fins and a pink caudal fin (from which it gets its common name). This fish is found exclusively around shallow reefs, where it spends its entire life.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinktail_triggerfish

## Photo

![Pinktail Triggerfish](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pinktail-triggerfish/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192032920

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pinktail-triggerfish?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).