Family

Balistidae

28 species · Animals

Animalia › Chordata › › Tetraodontiformes › Balistidae

Grey Triggerfish

Balistes capriscus Gmelin, 1789

Balistes capriscus, the grey triggerfish, is a medium-sized reef fish found across the Atlantic, with an expanding northern range.

Finescale Triggerfish

Balistes polylepis Steindachner, 1876

Balistes polylepis, the finescale triggerfish, is a plain brown/gray triggerfish found in the Eastern Pacific.

Queen Triggerfish

Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758

Balistes vetula, the queen triggerfish, is a large Atlantic triggerfish that may carry ciguatoxin and is fished for food.

Pinktail Triggerfish

Melichthys vidua (Richardson, 1845)

Melichthys vidua, the pinktail triggerfish, is a reef-dwelling triggerfish found across the Indian and Pacific Oceans that feeds mostly on plankton and fish eggs.

Black Triggerfish

Melichthys niger (Bloch, 1786)

Melichthys niger, the black triggerfish, is a circumtropical color-changing triggerfish with distinct light fin lines.

Black-finned Triggerfish

Melichthys indicus Randall & Klausewitz, 1973

Melichthys indicus, the Indian triggerfish, is a 25 cm long triggerfish found across the Indian Ocean.

Wedgetail Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus rectangulus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Rhinecanthus rectangulus, the reef triggerfish, is a reef fish with distinct physical traits and is often confused with close relatives.

Lagoon Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rhinecanthus aculeatus is an Indo-Pacific reef triggerfish studied in diverse research, with maternal egg care and a haremic mating system.

Blackpatch Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus verrucosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rhinecanthus verrucosus, the blackbelly triggerfish, is a small Indo-Pacific triggerfish with a characteristic large ventral black spot.

Arabian Picasso Triggerfish

Rhinecanthus assasi (Forsskål, 1775)

Rhinecanthus assasi is a 30 cm reef triggerfish found in the western Indian Ocean that feeds mostly on invertebrates.

Flagtail Triggerfish

Sufflamen chrysopterum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

The halfmoon triggerfish (Sufflamen chrysopterum) is a solitary triggerfish native to the tropical Indo-West Pacific.

Orangeside Triggerfish

Sufflamen verres (Gilbert & Starks, 1904)

Sufflamen verres, the orangeside triggerfish, is a triggerfish species found along the eastern Pacific from Mexico to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

Bridled Triggerfish

Sufflamen fraenatum (Latreille, 1804)

Masked triggerfish (Sufflamen fraenatum) is a triggerfish species found across much of the Indo-Pacific at depths of 8 to 186 meters.

Lei Triggerfish

Sufflamen bursa (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Sufflamen bursa is a triggerfish from the Indo-Pacific that is edible and hunted by predators, with defensive adaptations against urchins.

Bluethroat Triggerfish

Sufflamen albicaudatum (Rüppell, 1829)

Sufflamen albicaudatum, the bluethroat triggerfish, is a 22 cm long triggerfish from the western Indian Ocean occasionally sold in aquariums.

Redtooth Triggerfish

Odonus niger (Rüppell, 1836)

Odonus niger, the redtoothed triggerfish, is a distinctive Indo-Pacific triggerfish with unique swimming and visible red teeth.

Orangestripe Triggerfish

Balistapus undulatus (Park, 1797)

Balistapus undulatus, the orange-lined triggerfish, is a reef-dwelling fish with distinct orange body lines found in the Indo-western Pacific.

Starry Triggerfish

Abalistes stellatus (Anonymous, 1798)

Abalistes stellatus is a triggerfish species found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, with a maximum length of 60 cm.

Titan Triggerfish

Balistoides viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Balistoides viridescens, the titan triggerfish, is a large Indo-Pacific triggerfish reaching up to 75 cm long.

Clown Triggerfish

Balistoides conspicillum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Balistoides conspicillum, the clown triggerfish, is a distinctively patterned triggerfish found across Indo-Pacific tropical reefs.

Oceanic Triggerfish

Canthidermis sufflamen (Mitchill, 1815)

Canthidermis sufflamen, the ocean triggerfish, is a reef-associated triggerfish found in the western and eastern Atlantic.

Spotted Oceanic Triggerfish

Canthidermis maculata (Bloch, 1786)

Canthidermis maculata, the spotted oceanic triggerfish, is a widely distributed triggerfish named for its unique first dorsal fin trigger-like spine structure.