Tetraodontiformes, also known as the Plectognathi, is an order of ray-finned fishes which includes the pufferfishes and related taxa. This order has been classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes, although recent studies have found that it, as the Tetraodontoidei, is a sister taxon to the anglerfish order Lophiiformes, called Lophiodei, and have placed both taxa within the Acanthuriformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by 10 extant families and at around 430 species overall. The majority of the species within this order are marine but a few may be found in freshwater. They are found throughout the world.
Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, whicj also includes the pufferfishes, boxfishes, filefishes and related groups. The family is made up of four extant genera and three extinct genera which are known from fossils.
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.
Plectocretacicus is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the lower Cenomanian epoch. It contains a single species, P. clarae. Plectocretacicus may be the earliest known member of the order Tetraodontiformes.
Anguilloides is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine eel that lived in the early Eocene. It contains a single species, A. branchiostegalis. Fossils are known from the famous Monte Bolca site of Italy.
Cyttoides is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the early Oligocene epoch in the western Paratethys Sea over Europe. It contains a single species, C. glaronensis from the Matt Formation of Canton Glarus, Switzerland. It was a zeiform related to the extant genus Cyttus.
Balistomorphus is an extinct genus of prehistoric triggerfish during the early Oligocene epoch in what is now Canton Glarus, Switzerland. It inhabited the marine environment of the Tethys Ocean.
Acanthopleurus is an extinct genus of marine triplespine that lived in the seas over what is now Europe during the early Oligocene epoch.
Callipteryx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine trachiniform fish that lived during the early Eocene. It is the only known member of the extinct family Callipterygidae. It is thought to have been a relative of weeverfishes.
Caprovesposus is an extinct, prehistoric surgeonfish that inhabited the Paratethys Sea during the Oligocene. It is known from a single species, C. parvus, from what is now the North Caucasus, Russia. Potential specimens are known from the Miocene of Egypt, but these are poorly preserved and this attribution is uncertain.
Pseudotriacanthus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. The only species in this genus is Pseudotriacanthus strigilifer, the longspined tripodfish. This taxon is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Triacanthus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. The two species in this genus are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
Tripodichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. The three species in this genus are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean in shallow water over soft substrates.
Trixiphichthys, is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. The only species in this genus is Trixiphichthys weberi, the blacktip tripodfish or longnosed tripodfish. This taxon is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Triacanthus biaculeatus, also known as the short-nosed tripod fish, black-finned triple-spine, blacktail tripodfish, hollow-snouted tripodfish or silver tripodfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Triacanthus nieuhofii, the silver tripodfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. This species is found in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Triacanthoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, which includes the pufferfishes, triggerfishes and related taxa. These benthic fishes are mainly found in the Indian Ocean with some of the spikefishes found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Hollardiinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This small subfamily comprises two genera and a total of five species and all, except one species, are found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean. The exception is found in the western and central Pacific Ocean.
Triacanthodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This subfamily comprises nine genera and a total of nineteen species and all, except one species, are found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. The exception is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
The Matt Formation is an Early Oligocene-aged marine geological formation that outcrops in the Glarus Alps of the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It is most notable for its fossiliferous slates found near Engi, known as the Engi slates, Glarner Schiefer or Glarner Fischschiefer, which contain the well-preserved fossils of fishes, birds, and sea turtles. The metamorphization of the rock has led to many of the fossils appearing somewhat distorted.
