Balistes

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Eupercaria
Ordo: Tetraodontiformes

Familia: Balistidae
Genus: Balistes
Species: B. capriscus – B. ellioti – B. polylepis – B. punctatus – B. rotundatus – B. vetula – B. willughbeii

Nomen dubium: B. papillosus

Name

Balistes Linnaeus, 1758
Gender: masculine
Type species: Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758
Fixation: subsequent designation by Bleeker 1865: 98

References

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 327. Open access Reference page.
Bleeker, P. 1865-69: Atlas ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néêrlandais. Tome V. Baudroies, Ostracions, Gymnodontes, Balistes. 1-152, Pls. 194-231. [Text published 1865-1869, plates published in 1865.]
Balistes and its species (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2024. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.
Balistes – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
italiano: Pesce balestra

Balistes is a genus of triggerfish.
Species

There are currently five recognized species in this genus:[3]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Balistes capriscus J. F. Gmelin, 1789	grey triggerfish	western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and off Angola on the west coast of Africa.
	Balistes polylepis Steindachner, 1876	finescale triggerfish	Pacific Coast of the Americas from San Francisco southwards to Callao, Peru and the Galapagos.
	Balistes punctatus J. F. Gmelin, 1789	bluespotted triggerfish	Eastern Atlantic.
	Balistes vetula Linnaeus, 1758	queen triggerfish	Western Atlantic, it ranges from Canada to southern Brazil, and in the eastern Atlantic it is found at Ascension, Cape Verde, Azores and south to Angola

Fossil species

Restoration of B. dubius.
† Balistes dubius Blainville, 1818 (Middle Miocene)[4]
† Balistes vegai Lopez, Carr & Lorenzo, 2019 (Miocene)[5]

References

L. F. de Beaufort. 1926. On a collection of marine fishes from the Miocene of South Celebes. In H. A. Brouwer (ed.), Geologische Onderzoekingen in den Oostelijken Oost-Indischen Archiepel 117-148
C. A. Laurito, C. Calvo, A. L. Valerio, A. Calvo, and R. Chacón. 2014. "Ictiofauna del Mioceno inferior de localidad de Pacuare des Tres Equis, Formación Río Banao, Provincia de Cartago, Costa Rica, y descripción de un nuevo género y una Nueva Especie de Scaridae". Revista Geológica de América Central 50:153-192
Matsuura, Keiichi (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. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0444-5. S2CID 254172132.
Ortwin Schultz, 2004. "A Triggerfish (Osteichthyes: Balistidae: Balistes) from the Badenian (Middle Miocene) of the Vienna and the Styrian Basin (Central Paratethys)". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 106 A.
Viñola Lopez, Lazaro W.; Carr, Richard; Lorenzo, Logel (2020-10-20). "First occurrence of fossil Balistes (Tetradontiformes: Balistidae) from the Miocene of Cuba with the description of a new species and a revision of fossil Balistes". Historical Biology. 32 (9): 1290–1299. doi:10.1080/08912963.2019.1580278. ISSN 0891-2963.