Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines. The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the hard shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.
Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus. A number of common names are attributed to the species, including regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang, royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish, Pacific regal blue tang, and blue surgeonfish.
Canthigaster is a genus in the pufferfish family (Tetraodontidae). A fish from this genus is sometimes referred to as a "toby" or a "sharpnose puffer".
Valentin's sharpnose puffer, also known as the saddled puffer or black saddled toby, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. The saddled puffer is a small sized fish which grows up to 11 cm. It is widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea included, and until the oceanic islands of the Pacific Ocean. It inhabits rocky and coral reefs, lagoons and external reef until 55 m. Canthigaster valentini has a diurnal activity.
The Indo-Pacific sergeant is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It may also be known as the Sergeant major although this name is usually reserved for the closely related species Abudefduf saxatilis. The closely related Abudefduf caudobimaculatus was formerly considered to be synonymous with this species and, according to some authorities, is synonymous.
Thor amboinensis, commonly known as the squat shrimp or sexy shrimp, is a species of shrimp found across the Indo-West Pacific and in parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It lives symbiotically on corals, sea anemones and other marine invertebrates in shallow reef communities.
Novaculichthys taeniourus, also known as the rockmover wrasse, carpet wrasse, dragon wrasse, bar-cheeked wrasse, olive-scribbled wrasse or reindeer wrasse, is a species of wrasse mainly found in coral reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region. These include habitats in the Gulf of California to Panama; tropical Pacific Ocean islands including Hawaii; the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia; and the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. The common name, "rockmover wrasse", comes from their behavior of upending small stones and reef fragments in search of prey. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Plectropomus laevis, known commonly as the black-saddled coral grouper, cluespotted coral trout, blacksaddled coral trout, blue-spot trout, Chinese footballer, footballer cod, footballer coral trout, oceanic coral trout or tiger trout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Canthigaster coronata, commonly called the crowned toby, is a species of pufferfish endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Canthigaster rostrata, commonly known as the Caribbean sharp-nose puffer, is a pufferfish from the Western Central Atlantic. The Caribbean sharp-nose puffer is a small fish with a maximum length of 12 cm or approximately 4.7 inches. It can be encountered from the coast of South Carolina to Venezuela, including Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea. They can live up to 10 years in the wild, females typically live longer due to aggressive male territory behavior. The Caribbean sharp-nose puffer is a highly toxic species of marine fish due to the presence of tetrodotoxin in its tissues and organs. Despite its toxicity, the sharp-nose pufferfish occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
The honeycomb grouper, also known as black-spotted rock-cod, common birdwire rockcod, dwarf spotted rockcod, dwarf-spotted grouper, honeycomb cod, wire-netted reefcod or wire-netting cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution where it is found in coastal and offshore reefs in shallow waters.
Canthigaster solandri, commonly known as the spotted sharpnose puffer, is a ray-finned species of fish in the pufferfish family. It grows to a length of 11.5 centimeters in total length. It lives in the tropical Indo-Pacific: from East Africa to the Line Islands and the Tuamotus, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to New Caledonia and Tonga, to the Hawaiian Islands. This species, like other members of the family Tetraodontidae, demonstrates the ability to rapidly fill itself up like a water balloon, to protect itself from predators. The skin of this species is known to be poisonous.
Canthigaster margaritata, the pearl toby, is a species of "toby" or "sharpnose puffer" (Canthigaster), which is part of the pufferfish family, Tetraodontidae. This reef fish is found in Indo-Pacific waters, including the Red Sea.
Canthigaster tyleri, also known as Tyler's toby, is a species of marine fish in the family Tetraodontidae.
Canthigaster rivulata commonly known as the brown-lined puffer, or kitamakura is a marine fish belonging to the family Tetradontidae.
Canthigaster cyanospilota, commonly known as blue-spotted toby, is a species of pufferfish of the family Tetraodontidae. The species is found throughout the Indian Ocean, including the red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. They feed on a variety of benthic invertebrates and are listed in the IUCN Red List as Least Concern.
Canthigaster epilampra, known as the lantern toby, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species that ranges from Christmas Island in the west to the Hawaiian and Society Islands in the east, the Ryukyu Islands in the north, and Tonga and Rarotonga in the south. It inhabits outer reef slopes at a depth of 6 to 60 m, and it is usually seen at depths greater than 24 m (79 ft). It reaches 12 cm in total length, and it feeds on mollusks, echinoderms, brachiopods, and algae. The species is usually encountered alone or in pairs.
Canthigaster janthinoptera, known as the honeycomb toby, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific, where it can be found along the east coast of Africa south to South Africa's Eastern Cape province, east to Oeno Island and the Line and Marquesas Islands, north to Japan, and south to Lord Howe Island. It is replaced by its relative C. jactator near the Hawaiian Islands and by C. punctatissima in the Eastern Pacific. It occurs in reef environments, often near sponges, at a depth range of 1 to 30 m, and it reaches 9 cm in total length. The species is reported to feed on sponges, polychaetes, and algae, in addition to small quantities of tunicates, crustaceans, echinoderms and corals. It is an oviparous species usually encountered alone or in pairs.
Canthigaster leoparda, known as the leopard sharpnose puffer, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific, ranging from Christmas Island to the Philippines, Ambon, and Guam. It occurs at a depth range of 30 to 50 m, and it is usually found in the vicinity of drop-offs and caves. It reaches 7.5 cm SL and is often seen either alone or in pairs. The species is known to be oviparous.
Canthigaster ocellicincta, commonly known as the shy toby, is a species of pufferfish in the family Tetraodontidae. It is native to the Western Pacific where it ranges from Indonesia and the Philippines to Fiji, the Ryukyu Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, and New Caledonia, although it has recently been recorded from Tonga. It occurs at a depth range of 10 to 53 m and reaches 7.5 cm SL. The species is usually seen in invertebrate-rich reef caves at more than 25 m (82 ft) depth. While generally found alone or in pairs, although small groups have been reported on at least one occasion. It is noted to be a very secretive species that feeds on algae and small invertebrates.
