Longtime readers of this blog probably think that my favorite order of fish are the catfish (siluriformes), a vast order of fascinating freshwater fish which have based their success on mastering sensory perception, or possibly the flatfish (pleuronectiformes) whose predator/prey dichotomy and tragicomic frowns are featured heavily in my elegiac artwork about the decline of the oceans. Readers who have really read closely might suspect the lungfish or the ghost knife fish. Yet, actually, I haven’t written a great deal about my personal favorite order of fishes because they are so eclectic and eccentric that they are hard to write about. The Tetraodontiformes are an ancient order of teleosts (rayfin fish) which apparently originated on the reefs of the mid to late Cretaceous (during the age of dinosaurs). There are currently 10 extant families in the order, but the Tetradontiformes are not closely related to other bony fish.
So what are these ten families of exciting weirdo fish? Wikipedia lists them alphabetically for us!
- Aracanidae — deepwater boxfishes
- Balistidae — triggerfishes
- Diodontidae — porcupinefishes
- Molidae — ocean sunfishes
- Monacanthidae — filefishes
- Ostraciidae — boxfishes
- Tetraodontidae — pufferfishes
- Triacanthidae — triplespines
- Triacanthodidae — spikefishes
- Triodontidae — Threetooth puffer
Triggerfish, pufferfish, boxfish, filefish, cowfish, enormous weird sunfish…there is such a realm of wonder, beauty, and ichthyological fascination among these groups that it is hard to know where to start (although the Mola mola, which I have written about, is a pretty good headliner). The intelligent, colorful, and truculent triggerfish (Balistidae), in particular, are the source of endless delight.
I will write more about all of these in turn, but, before we get into that, it is worth highlighting some shared features of the Tetraodontiformes. These fish tend to have extremely rigid bodies which means they move differently from the quicksilver darting which other fish employ. They rely on fluttering their pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins to move (comparatively) slowly, albeit with extreme precision. Most Tetraodontiformes are masters of armor or other defensive mechanisms (toxins, spines, pop-up bone locks, and, um, self-inflation). Because of their tropical reef lifestyle and the nature of their defenses these fish often tend to be extraordinarily colorful.
Now is not the time to get into the details of all of these fish. Today’s post is mostly a teaser of things to come…but believe me, it will be worth it. The Tetraodontiformes are truly astonishing. Their colors and patterns do not just put most artists to shame, they put most 1980s artists to shame. And their vivid beauty and astonishing appearance isn’t even the most amazing thing about them. Stay tuned!
ferrebeekeeper 
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