''Melichthys'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

in the

triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacifi ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

( Balistidae). Member

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are found in the Indian Ocean,

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

and even the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

(''M. niger''). The Black triggerfish is the largest species in this genus at 45 cm in length and the Indian triggerfish is the smallest at 25 cm. ''Melichthys niger'' and ''Melichthys indicus'' are similar in appearance and are often confused.

Species

There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:Matsuura, K. (2014): Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. ''Ichthyological Research, 62 (1): 72-113.'' * ''

Melichthys indicus The Indian triggerfish (''Melichthys indicus''), also known as the black-finned triggerfish, has a brown body and black fins with white lines at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. It is found across the Indian Ocean. They can grow up to long. ...

'' J. E. Randall & Klausewitz, 1973 (Indian triggerfish) * ''

Melichthys niger The black triggerfish or black durgon (''Melichthys niger''), called ''Humuhumu'ele'ele'' in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins. From distance, it appears to be completely black ...

'' Bloch, 1786 (Black triggerfish) * ''

Melichthys vidua ''Melichthys'' is a small genus in the triggerfish family ( Balistidae). Member species are found in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and even the Red Sea (''M. niger''). The Black triggerfish is the largest species in this genus at 45 cm in ...

'' J. Richardson, 1845 (Pinktail triggerfish)

References

Taxa named by William John Swainson Ray-finned fish genera {{triggerfish-stub