---
title: "Black Triggerfish"
description: "Melichthys niger — Ryby. The black triggerfish or black durgon (Melichthys niger), called Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pl/animal/black-triggerfish
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Black Triggerfish

> Melichthys niger — Ryby. The black triggerfish or black durgon (Melichthys niger), called Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins.

- Scientific name: *Melichthys niger*
- Category: `fish` (Ryby)
- Habitats: `sea` (Morze i wybrzeże)
- iNaturalist observations: 3344
- Wikidata: [Q1974717](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1974717)
- iNaturalist taxon: [52464](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52464)

## Names

- en: Black Triggerfish
- de: Schwarzer Drückerfisch
- es: Cochito negro
- fr: Baliste noir
- nl: Zwarte trekkervis

## Countries with the most observations

US (1503), MX (298), KY (133), ID (109), EC (78), CX (77), HN (75), BZ (60), GP (57), PF (53), CR (49), ES (43)

## Summary

The black triggerfish or black durgon (Melichthys niger), called Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins. From distance, it appears to be completely black. However, upon closer inspection with good lighting, one can see that it is actually mottled dark-blue/green coloration often with orange toward the front of the head. Black durgons are capable of changing color based on their surroundings.
These are not to be confused with their cousins, the Indian triggerfish or black-finned triggerfish (Melichthys indicus), which are often mistaken…

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

## Photo

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

Photo: Allen Hurlbert · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103698447

## Machine access

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