Triacanthus biaculeatus

Triacanthus biaculeatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	Triacanthidae
Genus:	Triacanthus
Species:	T. biaculeatus
Binomial name
	Triacanthus biaculeatus; (Bloch, 1786)
Synonyms
	Balistes biaculeatus Bloch, 1786 ; Triacanthus brevirostris Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 ;

Last updated September 19, 2024

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.

Taxonomy

Triacanthus biaculeatus was first formally described as Balistes biaculeatus in 1786 by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch with its type locality given as the Indian Ocean.^[2] In 1817 Lorenz Oken classified B. aculeatus in the new monospecific genus Triacanthus , so this species is the type species of the genus Triacanthus by monotypy.^[3] This genus is classified in the family Triacanthidae within the suborder Triacanthoidei alongside the Triacanthodidae.^[4] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Triacanthoidei as suborder of the order Tetraodontiformes.^[5]

Etymology

Triacanthus biaculeatus is classified within the genus Triacanthus, a name that prefixes acanthus, which means “thorn” or “spine”, with tri-, meaning “three”, this is an allusion to the long and robust first spine of the dorsal fin and the two large spines in the pelvic fins. The specific name, biaculeatus, means "two spined", an allusion to the spine in each of the pelvic fins.^[6]

Description

Triacanthus biaculeatus has a lower, scaly surface of the pelvis that is nearly as wide at the front as it is at the rear and which does not taper to a point. There are six spines in the dorsal fin, the first spine being between three and four times longer than the second spine. There are 21 to 26 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 17 to 23 in the anal fin. The scales have low emarginated cross-shaped ridges. The upper part of the body is sivery bluish-grey with the lower hal;f being silvery-grey. There is a large blotch on the back underneath the spiny dorsal fin. There is a dark bat running from one eye to the other. The membrames of the fins are typically yellowish, except that the spint dorsal fin has varying amounts of dark, even black, colouration.^[7] This species has a maximum published total length of 30 cm (12 in).^[1]

Distribution and habitat

Triacanthus biaculeatus is found in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean where it has been recorded from the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea east into the Pacific as far as northern Australia and nort to central Honshu in Japan.^[8] The short-nosed tripod fish is found on sand or mud flats along coasts and in estuaries as deep as 60 m (200 ft) where it feeds on benthic invertebrates.^[1]

Human utilisation

Triacanthus biaculeatus is sold in fish markets as fresh fish and is used in traditional Chinese medicine.^[1]

Related Research Articles

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.

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.

Bathyphylax is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the deep waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Halimochirurgus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the deep waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Macrorhamphosodes, the trumpetsnouts, is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. The fishes in this genus are found in the deep waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Mephisto fraserbrunneri, the devil's spikefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This species is found in the Indian Ocean.

Mephisto is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. These fishes are found in the Indian Ocean.

Parahollardia is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. These demersal fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

Paratriacanthodes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. These fishes are found found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Triacanthodes is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. These fishes are found found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Tydemania navigatoris, the fleshy-lipped spikefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This species is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans where it occurs at depths of from 50 to 607 metres. This species grows to a length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in) SL. This fish is specialized to feed on the scales of other fishes. This species is the only known member of the genus Tydemania.

<i>Triacanthodes ethiops</i> Species of fish

Triacanthodes ethiops, the shortsnout spikefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This species is found in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Paratriacanthodes retrospinis, the sawspine spikefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This species is found in the Indo-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.

Triacanthodes anomalus, the red spikefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthodidae, the spikefishes. This species is found in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

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.

References

1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Triacanthus biaculeatus". FishBase . June 2024 version.
↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Triacanthus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Triacanthidae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 15 September 2024.
↑ Franceso Santini; James C. Tyler (2003). "A phylogeny of the families of fossil and extant tetraodontiform fishes (Acanthomorpha, Tetraodontiformes), Upper Cretaceous to Recent". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 139 (4): 565–617. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2003.00088.x.
↑ Nelson, J.S.; Grande, T.C.; Wilson, M.V.H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 518–526. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. LCCN 2015037522. OCLC 951899884. OL 25909650M.
↑ Christopher Scharpf (27 August 2024). "Order TETRAODONTIFORMES: Families TRIODONTIDAE, TRIACANTHIDAE, TRIACANTHODIDAE, DIODONTIDAE and TETRAODONTIDAE". Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
↑ Keiichi Matsuura (2022). "Tetraodontiformes". In Phillip C. Heemstra; Elaine Heemstra; David E. Ebert; Wouter Holleman; John E. Randall (eds.). Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean (PDF). pp. 406–485.
↑ Matsuura, K. (2014). "Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014". Ichthyological Research. 62 (1): 72–113. Bibcode:2015IchtR..62...72M. doi: 10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5 .