Family of fishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The spikefishes (family Triacanthodidae) 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.[2]
| Spikefishes Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Parahollardia lineata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Suborder: | Triacanthoidei |
| Family: | Triacanthodidae T. N. Gill, 1862 |
| Subfamilies and genera [1] | |
|
see text | |
The spikefishes are quite variable in form, with some species having tubular snouts (greatly elongated in Halimochirurgus and Macrorhamphosodes), and others have spoon-like teeth for scraping the scales off other fishes. Depending on the exact species involved, they reach a maximum length of about 5–22 centimetres (2.0–8.7 in).
While spikefish are shaped in a wide variety of different colors, sizes, and shapes, they can characterized by their similarities of having a dense body with relatively thick skin, a large amount of tiny yet spiky scales, two dorsal fins of which the first contains six spines and twelve to eighteen soft spines along the second, a rounded caudal fin, small and terminal mouth with at least 10 average sized conical teeth.
The spikefish family, Triacanthodidae, was first proposed in 1862 by the American biologist Theodore Gill[3] and, in 1968, James C. Tyler classified it within the suborder Triacanthoidei alongside the Triacanthidae, as well as proposing the subfamily Hollardinae.[4] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this as suborder of the order Tetraodontiformes.[5]
The spikefish family, Triacanthodidae, is divided into two subfamilies and eleven genera as follows:[6]
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