Porcupinefish are medium-to-large fish belonging to the family Diodontidae from the order Tetraodontiformes which are also commonly called blowfish and, sometimes, balloonfish and globefish. They are sometimes collectively called pufferfish, not to be confused with the morphologically similar and closely related Tetraodontidae, which are more commonly given this name.
The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by 10 extant families and at least 349 species overall; most are marine and dwell in and around tropical coral reefs, but a few species are found in freshwater streams and estuaries. They have no close relatives, and descend from a line of coral-dwelling species that emerged around 80 million years ago.
The spotwing flying gurnard is an unusual looking fish because of its huge pectoral fins. The fish has dark spots and wavy lines on the fins. It has a dull head and a grey or sometimes brown body that is covered with dark brown or black spots.
André Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology. His son Auguste Duméril was also a zoologist, and the author citation Duméril is used for both André and his son.
The Molidae comprise the family of the molas or ocean sunfishes, unusual fish whose bodies come to an end just behind the dorsal and anal fins, giving them a "half-fish" appearance. They are also the largest of the ray-finned bony fish, with the southern sunfish, Mola alexandrini, recorded at 4.6 m (15 ft) in length and 2,744 kg (6,049 lb) in weight.
Ostraciidae or Ostraciontidae is a family of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes. It contains about 23 extant species in 6 extant genera.
The slender sunfish is a mola of the family Molidae, the only extant member of the genus Ranzania, found globally in tropical and temperate seas. Its length is up to 1 m (3.3 ft). Several stranding and mass stranding events have occurred on beaches near Albany, Western Australia.
Porcupinefishes or balloonfishes, are any of the various species of the genus Diodon, the type genus of Diodontidae.
The spikefishes are ray-finned fishes related to the pufferfishes and triggerfishes. They live in deep waters; more than 50 m (160 ft), but above the continental shelves. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and the west-central Pacific.
The spotted trunkfish is a member of the family Ostraciidae. It lives in reefs throughout the Caribbean, as well as the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It gets its name from the black spots on its whitish or yellow-golden body. In Caribbean countries, it is colloquially known as the boxfish, cow-fish or shellfish.
Arothron stellatus, also known as the stellate pufferfish, starry puffer, or starry toadfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tetrosomus gibbosus, commonly called camel cowfish because of the hump on its dorsal keel, is one of 22 species in the boxfish family, Ostraciidae. It is a ray finned fish. Other common names include helmet cowfish, humpback turretfish and thornbacked boxfish. It is most closely related to T. reipublicae, the smallspine turretfish. T. gibbosus is a species of boxfish found in the wide Indo-West Pacific. It has been recorded since 1988 on rare occasions in the Levantine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, likely following entry via the Suez Canal. It is the first species from the family Ostraciidae to be found in the Mediterranean Sea.
The common toadfish, also known as the common toado, toadfish or toado, is a species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae of order Tetraodontiformes, found along Australia's eastern coast, from northern Queensland to Flinders Island, and around Lord Howe Island, as well as in New Zealand waters. It often buries itself in sand with only its eyes exposed.
Anoplocapros is a genus of deepwater boxfishes native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans where they are found mostly around Australia.
Aracana is a genus of deepwater boxfishes native to the coastal waters of Australia.
Kentrocapros is a genus of deepwater boxfishes native to coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Acanthostracion is a genus of boxfishes native to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lactophrys is a genus of boxfishes native to the western Atlantic Ocean. All trunkfish of the genus Lactophrys, secretes a colorless toxin from glands on its skin when touched. The toxin is only dangerous when ingested, so there is no immediate harm to divers. Predators however, as large as nurse sharks, can die as a result of eating a trunkfish.
Lactoria is a genus of boxfishes.
Tetrosomus is a genus of boxfishes native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
