Triacanthidae
| Triplespines | |
|---|---|
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| Drawing of a triplespine Triacanthus biaculeatus |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Triacanthidae |
| Genera | |
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5, see text |
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Triacanthidae, commonly known as triplespines or tripodfishes, is a family of Indo-Pacific fishes. It is classified in the order Tetraodontiformes, along with the pufferfishes and the ocean sunfish. The family consists of seven species in four genera, in addition to one extinct genus.
Much like their relatives the triggerfish and the filefish, the triplespines's first ray of the dorsal fin is formed to a spine. Further, they have two spines in place of their ventral fins. They have sharp and heavy teeth, which they use to eat hard-shelled molluscs and crustaceans.[1]
Not much is known about how the fish live. They are essentially offshore fish that only come close to land occasionally. They range from 15 to 30 centimetres (5.9 to 12 in) in length.
[edit] Species
- Genus †Acanthopleurus (fossil, Oligocene)
- Genus Pseudotriacanthus
- Genus Triacanthus
- Genus Trixiphichthys
- Genus Tripodichthys
[edit] References
- ^ Matsura, Keiichi & Tyler, James C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 228. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- This article incorporates information from the revision as of January 27, 2007 of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
[edit] External links
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