Balistidae

Thesaurus

Noun

Balistidae - triggerfishes family Balistidaefish family - any of various families of fishorder Plectognathi, order Tetraodontiformes, Plectognathi - boxfishes; filefishes; globefishes; ocean sunfishes; triggerfishes; pufferstriggerfish - any of numerous compressed deep-bodied tropical fishes with sandpapery skin and erectile spines in the first dorsal finBalistes, genus Balistes - type genus of the Balistidaefilefish - narrow flattened warm-water fishes with leathery skin and a long file-like dorsal spine

Balistidae

(triggerfishes), a family of fishes of the order Tet-raodontiformes. The tall, laterally compressed body reaches a length of about 60 cm and is covered with large, bony, imbricate scales. The first spine of the anterior dorsal fin is thick and is locked in place vertically by the second spine. The two spines of the ventral fins fuse to form a single spine.

Triggerfishes obtain food by breaking off pieces of coral and crushing the shells of mollusks, sea urchins, and crabs with their powerful teeth, which resemble cutting pliers. There also are a number of herbivorous species. The 11 genera of triggerfishes embrace about 30 species, which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical seas. The fishes lead a solitary mode of existence and are very slow-moving. The gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) is found in the Mediterranean, the eastern Atlantic, the coastal waters of the western Atlantic, and the Black Sea. The flesh is poisonous.

REFERENCES

Svetovidov, A. N. Ryby Chernogo moría. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964.
Nikol’skii, G. V. Chastnaia ikhtiologiia, 3rd ed. Moscow, 1971.

Balistidae

Balistidae

Balistidae

REFERENCES

Balistidae

Synonyms for Balistidae

noun triggerfishes

Synonyms

Related Words