Canthigaster

Saddle - Point Head puffer ( Canthigaster valentini )

Spitzkopf puffers ( Canthigaster ) are a genus of pufferfish ( Tetraodontidae ). They live in the shallow waters of the tropical coral reefs of the Indopazifiks and feed on all kinds of soil dwelling and sessile invertebrates. One type also occur in the tropical western Atlantic (C. rostrata ) in the islands of Macaronesia (C. capistrata ), at St. Helena and Ascension (C. sanctaehelenae ) and on the coast of West Africa (C. supramacula ) ago.

Features

Spitzkopf puffers are 5-31 centimeters long. Your German name comes from the long and pointed snout extended. Your body is in contrast to the rotating circular cross -sections of the rest of the puffer fish, somewhat flattened laterally ( in some species very little ). Like all puffers they can inflate at risk by a strong musculature pressed jerks water from the oral cavity into a ventral, sack -like expansion of the stomach.

Spitzkopf puffers have only a single outer nostril on each side of snout. The lateral line organ is unremarkable. The small gill slits forming the bottom of half the height of the pectoral fin base. On the center line of the reinforced usually with several small spines ventral side they show excitement or displeasure in a longitudinal, keel- like fold.

Etymology

William Swainson gives to his new genus and subgenus names usually sloganized diagnostic features, which sometimes the names suggest ( but often contain arge misprint ). For the Tetraod [ ont ] inengattung Canthigaster he gives "the belly with spines" ( γαστήρ "belly" ) to. Therefore, would come from, " canthi " of ἀκάνθη ( acanthe ) "thorn ", which is philological but wrong - he ( or possibly an informant ) gave the α - perhaps for a α intensivum ( reinforcing α ), but here it is part of the root word ( ἀκη ). (. Swainson used often canth - for acanth, eg in Platycanthus (now Aracana ), lc ) would be content to derive κάνθις " tires " is appropriate - but it is unlikely that Swainson been the occasional, bogige longitudinal wrinkles on living fish ( as ) has observed -. Anyway, the interpretation of Canthigaster remains somewhat uncertain.

System

Spitzkopf puffers were classified in older releases as a separate family ( Canthigasteridae ) and referred to in German as a pitcher fish. Today, they are mono generic subfamily of the puffer fish. In a recent phylogenetic analysis based on the sequencing of the entire mitochondrial genome, however, showed that they are deep within the second, referred to as a round head puffers second subfamily and the delineation of subfamilies thus at least can not be molecular genetics based.

Species

There are about 35 species:

  • Ambon, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster amboinensis ) ( Bleeker, 1865)
  • Bennetts Point Head puffer ( Canthigaster bennetti ) ( Bleeker, 1854)
  • Clown Spitzkopf puffer ( Canthigaster calli terna ) ( Ogilby, 1889)
  • Labyrinth, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster compressa ) (Marion de Proce, 1822)
  • Crown Point Head puffer ( Canthigaster coronata ) ( Vaillant & Sauvage, 1875)
  • Canthigaster criobe Williams, Delrieu - Trottin & Planes, 2012
  • Canthigaster cyanetron Randall & Cea Egaña, 1989
  • Lantern Point Head puffer ( Canthigaster epilampra ) ( Jenkins, 1903)
  • Canthigaster figueiredoi Moura & Castro, 2002
  • Canthigaster flavoreticulata Matsuura, 1986
  • Canthigaster inframacula Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Canthigaster investigatoris ( Annandale & Jenkins, 1910)
  • Hawaii, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster jactator ) ( Jenkins, 1901)
  • Canthigaster jamestyleri Moura & Castro, 2002
  • Network, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster janthinoptera ) ( Bleeker, 1855)
  • Leopard Spitzkopf puffer ( Canthigaster leoparda ) Lubbock & Allen, 1979
  • Beads, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster margaritata ) ( Rüppell, 1829)
  • Canthigaster marque sensis Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Natal, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster natalensis ) ( Günther, 1870)
  • Canthigaster ocellicincta Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Papua Spitzkopf puffer ( Canthigaster papua ) ( Bleeker, 1848)
  • Canthigaster punctata Matsuura, 1992
  • Spotted Spitzkopf puffer ( Canthigaster punctatissima ) ( Günther, 1870)
  • Dwarf, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster pygmaea ) Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Canthigaster rapaensis Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Dual-band Spitzkopf puffer ( Canthigaster rivulata ) ( Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
  • Caribbean, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster rostrata ) ( Bloch, 1786)
  • Canthigaster sanctaehelenae ( Günther, 1870)
  • Smith pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster smithae ) Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Eyespot, pointed nose puffer ( Canthigaster solandri ) ( Richardson, 1845)
  • Canthigaster supramacula Moura & Castro, 2002
  • Tyler pointed head puffer ( Canthigaster tyleri ) Allen & Randall, 1977
  • Saddle - Point Head puffer ( Canthigaster valentini ) ( Bleeker, 1853)
Acanthomorpha Ascension Island Monotypic taxon Joseph S. Nelson Digital Object Identifier FishBase
162601
de