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Genus of fishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balistoides is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Balistidae, the triggerfishes. The triggerfishes in this genus are found in the Indo-Pacific region.
| Balistoides | |
|---|---|
| |
| Balistoides conspicillum | |
 | |
| Balistoides viridescens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Balistidae |
| Genus: | Balistoides Fraser-Brunner, 1935 |
| Type species | |
| Balistes viridescens Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Balistoides was first propsed as a genus in 1935 by the English ichthyologist Alec Fraser-Brunner with Balistes viridescens designated as its type species.[2] B. viridescens had originally been described in 1801 by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider with its type locality not given but is Mauritius, as the descruption was based on Bernard Germain de Lacépède's Baliste verdatre.[3] A 2016 study found that Balistoides was non-monophyletic with B. conspiciillum being sister to Balistapus and B. viridescens being sister to Pseudobalistes. However, the 2016 study stated the results concerning the "close association" of Balistapus undulatus and Balistoides conspicillum, were only "moderately supported"[4] and it has not resulted in the classification of the triggerfishes being changed.[1] This genus is classified in the family Balistidae, which is classified in the suborder Balistoidei in the order Tetraodontiformes.[5]
Balistoides sufffixes -oides onto Balistes and means having the form of Balistes.[6]
Balistoides contains 3 currently recognised species:[3]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Balistoides conspicillum (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | Clown triggerfish | tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean and in the western Pacific Ocean. |
 | Balistoides viridescens (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | Titan triggerfish | Indo-Pacific |
Balistoides triggerfishes have a laterally compressed caudal peduncle. The scales above the base of the pectoral fin and the gillslit are very enlarged and form a flexinle tympanum. There is an obvious grrove on the snout in front of the eye. The teeth in the jaw are white and do not prominently project. Almost all of the cheek is covered on scales except for a very small fold at the corner of the mouth. The dirsal and ventral profiles if the head are concave, straight or slighly convex. The body is not plain black or very dark blue but is marked with different coloured blotches and lines.[7] The smallest of the two species in this genus is B. viridescens with a maximum total length of 75 cm (30 in) while the maximum published total length of B. conspicillum is 50 cm (20 in),[8]
Balistoides triggerfishes are found in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans from the eastern coast of Africa east as far as the Tuamotus and Line Islands, south to northern Autralia and north to southern Japan.[9] The two species in this genus are associated with coral reefs, at depsth down to 75 m (246 ft).[7]
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