PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Tetraodontiformes

Actinopteri - Tetraodontiformes

Taxonomy

Tetraodontiformes was named by Berg (1940). It is extant.

It was assigned to Teleostei by Thurmond and Jones (1981), Kumar and Loyal (1987), Case and Schwimmer (1988); to Osteichthyes by Purdy et al. (2001), Sepkoski (2002); to Acanthopterygii by Nelson (2006); to Actinopterygii by Weems (1999), Gregorova et al. (2009); to Percomorpharia by Betancur et al. (2013); to Percomorpha by Long (2011), Bannikov (2014); to Ovalentaria by Nelson et al. (2016); to Acanthomorpha by Close et al. (2016); to Teleostei by Carnevale and Santini (2006), Fierstine et al. (2012), Carnevale and Godfrey (2018); and to Eupercaria by Cantalice et al. (2025).

Subtaxa

Alutera, Aracanidae, Atlanticopristis, Balistoidei, Bolcabalistidae, Cretazeus, Eodiodon, Eoplectidae, Indotrigonodon, Kyrtogymnodon, Moloidei, Oligodiodon, Ostracioidea, Ostracioidei, Pisdurodon, Plectocretacicoidei, Plectocretacicus, Protobalistidae, Tetraodontoidei, Triacanthodoidei, Triacanthoidei, Trigonodontoidae, Triodontidae, Zignoichthyidae

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1940	Tetraodontiformes Berg
1981	Tetraodontiformes Thurmond and Jones p. 107
1987	Tetraodontiformes Kumar and Loyal p. 73
1988	Tetraodontiformes Case and Schwimmer p. 300
1999	Tetraodontiformes Weems p. 71
2001	Tetraodontiformes Purdy et al.
2002	Tetradontiformes Sepkoski
2006	Tetradontiformes Carnevale and Santini
2006	Tetraodontiformes Nelson
2009	Tetraodontiformes Gregorova et al. p. 361
2011	Tetraodontiformes Long p. 244
2012	Tetraodontiformes Fierstine et al. p. 163
2013	Tetraodontiformes Betancur et al.
2014	Tetraodontiformes Bannikov p. 30
2016	Tetraodontiformes Close et al. p. 502
2016	Tetraodontiformes Nelson et al. p. 518
2018	Tetraodontiformes Carnevale and Godfrey p. 199
2025	Tetraodontiformes Cantalice et al. p. 19

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
superclass	Actinopterygii	()
class	Actinopteri	()
subclass	Neopterygii	(Regan 1923)
—	Teleosteomorpha
—	Teleostei	(Müller 1846)

Rank	Name	Author
—	Teleocephala	de Pinna 1996
—	Clupeocephala	Patterson and Rosen 1977
—	Euteleosteomorpha
—	Neoteleostei	Rosen 1973
—	Eurypterygia	(Rosen 1973)
—	Ctenosquamata
—	Acanthomorphata	(Rosen 1973)
—	Euacanthomorphacea
—	Percomorphaceae
—	Percomorpharia
order	Tetraodontiformes	Berg 1940
order	Tetraodontiformes	Berg 1940

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Or. Tetraodontiformes Berg 1940

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G. Alutera Oken 1817

Fm. Aracanidae

G. †Proaracana Le Danois 1961

†Proaracana dubia Blainville 1818

G. †Atlanticopristis Pereira and Medeiros 2008

†Atlanticopristis equatorialis Pereira and Medeiros 2008

Subor. Balistoidei Kumar and Loyal 1987

Fm. Balistidae

G. Balistes Linnaeus 1758

†Balistes crassidens Casier 1958

†Balistes dubius Blainville 1818

†Balistes lerichei Bauzà 1949

†Balistes muensteri Schultz 2004

Balistes polylepis Steindachner 1876 [finescale triggerfish]

†Balistes procapriscus Arambourg 1927

G. †Balistomorphus Gill 1888

†Balistomorphus orbiculatus Heer 1865

†Balistomorphus ovalis Agassiz 1842

†Balistomorphus spinosus Agassiz 1842

G. †Gornylistes Bannikov and Tyler 2008

†Gornylistes prodigiosus Bannikov and Tyler 2008

G. †Grypodon

†Grypodon texanus Dames 1883

Invalid names: Ancistrodon Roemer 1849 [replaced]

G. †Oligobalistes Danil'chenko 1960

†Oligobalistes robustus Danil'chenko 1960

Superfm. †Bolcabalistoidea

Invalid names: Eospinidae Santini and Tyler 2003 [empty]

Fm. †Eotrigonodontidae White 1935

G. †Eotrigonodon Weiler 1929

†Eotrigonodon indicus Kumar and Loyal 1987

†Eotrigonodon serratus Gervais 1852

†Eotrigonodon tabroumiti Tabaste 1963

†Eotrigonodon wardhaensis Jain and Sahni 1983

G. †Kankatodus Kumar and Loyal 1987

†Kankatodus cappettai Kumar and Loyal 1987

G. †Stephanodus Zittel 1883

†Stephanodus lybicus Zittel 1888

Superfm. †Moclaybalistoidea Santini and Tyler 2003

Fm. Moclaybalistidae Santini and Tyler 2003

G. †Moclaybalistes Tyler and Santini 2002

†Moclaybalistes danekrus Tyler and Santini 2002

Fm. Monacanthidae

G. Aluterus Cloquet 1816 [Leatherjacket]

†Aluterus shigensis Miyajima et al. 2014

G. Amanses Gray 1835

†Amanses sulcifer Casier 1966

G. †Frigocanthus Sorbini and Tyler 2004

†Frigocanthus margaritatus Sorbini and Tyler 2004

†Frigocanthus stroppanobili Sorbini and Tyler 2004

Superfm. Triacanthoidea

G. †Cryptobalistes

Invalid names: Balistoidea [empty]

Fm. †Bolcabalistidae

G. †Bolcabalistes Tyler and Sorbini 1998

†Bolcabalistes varii Tyler and Sorbini 1998

G. †Eospinus Tyler and Bannikov 1992

†Eospinus daniltshenkoi Tyler and Bannikov 1992

G. †Cretazeus Tyler 2000

†Cretazeus rinaldii Tyler 2000

G. †Eodiodon Casier 1952

Fm. †Eoplectidae

G. †Eoplectus Tyler 1975

†Eoplectus bloti Tyler 1975

G. †Indotrigonodon Jain and Sahni 1983

†Indotrigonodon ovatus Jain and Sahni 1983

G. †Kyrtogymnodon Tavani 1955

Subor. Moloidei

Fm. Molidae

G. †Austromola Gregorova et al. 2009

†Austromola angerhoferi Gregorova et al. 2009

G. †Eomola Tyler and Bannikov 1992

†Eomola bimaxillaria Tyler and Bannikov 1992

G. Mola Linck 1790

Mola chelonopsis Ichishima and Kimura 2009

Mola mola Linnaeus 1758 [ocean sunfish]

†Mola pileata Van Beneden 1881

†Mola pileatus Van Beneden 1881

Invalid names: Pagurus torus Van Beneden 1881 [synonym]

Mola ramsayi Giglioli 1883

Invalid names: Orthagoriscus [synonym]

G. Ranzania Nardo 1840

†Ranzania grahami Weems 1985

Ranzania laevis Pennant 1776 [slender sunfish]

†Ranzania ogaii Uyeno and Sakamoto 1994

†Ranzania tenneyorum Weems 1985

†Ranzania zappai Carnevale 2007

G. †Oligodiodon Tavani 1955

Subor. Ostracioidea Tyler 1980

Invalid names: Spinacanthidae [empty]

Subor. Ostracioidei

Fm. Ostraciidae

G. †Eolactoria Tyler 1975

†Eolactoria sorbinii Tyler 1975

G. Lactophrys Swainson 1839

G. †Oligolactoria Tyler and Gregorovå 1991

†Oligolactoria bubiki Tyler and Gregorovå 1991

G. Ostracion Rafinesque 1815

†Ostracion clavatus Casier 1946

†Ostracion meretrix Daimeries 1891

†Ostracion micrurus Agassiz 1833

†Ostracion oblongus Zigno 1874

†Ostracion pergravis Schwarzhans 2003

G. †Pisdurodon Jain and Sahni 1983

†Pisdurodon spatulatus Jain and Sahni 1983

Subor. †Plectocretacicoidei

Superfm. †Plectocretacicoidea Tyler and Sorbini 1996

Fm. †Cretatriacanthidae Tyler and Sorbini 1996

G. †Cretatriacanthus Tyler and Sorbini 1996

†Cretatriacanthus guidottii Tyler and Sorbini 1996

G. †Slovenitriacanthus Tyler and Križnar 2013

†Slovenitriacanthus saksidai Tyler and Križnar 2013

Invalid names: Plectocretacicidae Tyler and Sorbini 1996 [empty], Protriacanthidae Tyler and Sorbini 1996 [empty]

G. †Plectocretacicus Sorbini 1979

†Plectocretacicus clarae Sorbini 1979

Fm. †Protobalistidae

G. †Protobalistum Zigno 1887

†Protobalistum imperiale Massalongo 1857

G. †Spinacanthus Agassiz 1835

†Spinacanthus blennioides Agassiz 1835

†Spinacanthus cuneiformis Blainville 1818

†Spinacanthus imperiale Massalongo 1857

Subor. Tetraodontoidei

Fm. †Avitoplectidae Bemis et al. 2017

G. †Avitoplectus Bemis et al. 2017

†Avitoplectus molaris Bemis et al. 2017

Fm. †Balkariidae Bannikov et al. 2017

G. †Balkaria Bannikov et al. 2017

†Balkaria histiopterygia Bannikov et al. 2017

G. †Ctenoplectus Close et al. 2016

†Ctenoplectus williamsi Close et al. 2016

Fm. Diodontidae

G. Chilomycterus Brisout de Barneville 1846

†Chilomycterus acanthodes Sauvage 1870

†Chilomycterus dzonotensis Cantalice et al. 2025

†Chilomycterus schoepfi Walbaum 1792

G. Diodon Linnaeus 1758

†Diodon circumflexus Leriche 1942

†Diodon connewarrensis Chapman and Pritchard 1907

†Diodon erinaceus Agassiz 1844

†Diodon formosus Chapman and Pritchard 1907

†Diodon kugleri Casier 1958

†Diodon scillae Agassiz 1843

Invalid names: Megalurites nitidum Costa 1864 [synonym]

†Diodon tenuispinus Agassiz 1833

†Diodon vetus Leidy 1855

Invalid names: Megalurites Costa 1864 [synonym]

G. †Heptadiodon Bronn 1855

†Heptadiodon echinus Heckel 1853

G. †Prodiodon

†Prodiodon erinaceus Agassiz 1844

†Prodiodon tenuispinus Agassiz 1833

G. †Progymnodon Dames 1883

†Progymnodon hilgendorfi Dames 1883

G. †Pshekhadiodon Bannikov and Tyler 1997

†Pshekhadiodon parini Bannikov and Tyler 1997

G. †Zignodon Tyler and Santini 2002

†Zignodon fornasieroae Tyler and Santini 2002

Fm. Tetraodontidae

G. †Archaeotetraodon Carnevale and Santini 2006

†Archaeotetraodon bannikovi Carnevale and Tyler 2010

†Archaeotetraodon cerrinaferoni Carnevale and Santini 2006

†Archaeotetraodon dicarloi Carnevale and Tyler 2010

†Archaeotetraodon jamestyleri Bannikov 1990

†Archaeotetraodon winterbottomi Tyler and Bannikov 1994

†Archaeotetraodon zafaranai Carnevale and Tyler 2010

G. †Eotetraodon Tyler 1980

†Eotetraodon gornylutshensis Bannikov and Tyler 2008

†Eotetraodon pygmaeus Zigno 1887

†Eotetraodon tavernei Tyler and Bannikov 2013

G. †Leithaodon Carnevale and Tyler 2015

†Leithaodon sandroi Carnevale and Tyler 2015

G. Sphoeroides Lacépède 1798

†Sphoeroides hyperostosus Tyler et al. 1992

G. Tetraodon Linnaeus 1758

†Tetraodon scillae Lawley 1876

†Tetrodon pygmaeus Zigno 1887

Invalid names: Gymnodontidae Cuvier 1817 [synonym]

Invalid names: Eoplectoidea [empty], Moloidea [empty], Tetraodontoidea [empty], Triodontoidea [empty]

Subor. Triacanthodoidei

Fm. Triacanthodidae

Invalid names: Hollardinae [empty], Triacanthodinae [empty]

Subor. Triacanthoidei Betancur et al. 2013

Fm. Triacanthidae

G. †Protacanthodes Gill 1888

†Protacanthodes nimesensis Tyler and Santini 2001

†Protacanthodes omboni de Zigno 1887

†Protacanthodes ombonii de Zigno 1887

G. Triacanthus Oken 1817

Invalid names: Protacanthodinae Tyler 1968 [empty], Triacanthinae [empty]

Fm. Triodontidae

G. Triodon Cuvier 1829

†Triodon antiquus Leriche 1905

Fm. †Zignoichthyidae

G. †Zignoichthys Tyler 1975

†Zignoichthys oblongus Zigno 1874

Invalid names: Trigonodontoidae Weiler 1929 [empty]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

marinesubp

Locomotion:

actively mobileo

Life habit:

nektonico

Diet:

carnivoreo

Created:

2009-07-20 21:45:45

Modified:

2009-07-20 23:45:45

Source: o = order, subp = subphylum

References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Late/Upper Oxfordian to the top of the Holocene or 161.20000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 155.7 Ma

Collections (230 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Oldest occurrences
Late/Upper Oxfordian	161.2 - 155.7	France (Basse-Normandie)	Stephanodus sp. (74916)
Late/Upper Tithonian - Early/Lower Berriasian	150.8 - 140.2	France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)	Stephanodus sp. (92143 92144 92145)
Albian	113.0 - 100.5	Algeria	Stephanodus zitteli (187588)
Albian	113.0 - 100.5	Algeria (El Bayadh)	Stephanodus zitteli (206288)
Cenomanian	100.5 - 93.9	Brazil (Maranhão)	Eotrigonodon sp., Stephanodus sp., Atlanticopristis equatorialis (56365)
Early/Lower Cenomanian	99.6 - 93.5	France (Poitou-Charentes)	Stephanodus sp. (73862 77233)
Early/Lower Cenomanian	99.6 - 93.5	Morocco (Drâa-Tafilalet)	Eotrigonodon tabroumiti (87164)
Late/Upper Cenomanian	99.6 - 93.5	Egypt	Stephanodus sp. (214403 214498)
Late/Upper Cenomanian	99.6 - 93.5	Lebanon	Plectocretacicus clarae (127284)
Late/Upper Santonian - Early/Lower Campanian	85.8 - 70.6	Slovenia (Kras)	Slovenitriacanthus saksidai (221379)
Late/Upper Santonian - Middle Campanian	85.8 - 70.6	USA (Georgia)	Stephanodus sp. (35289)
Campanian	83.6 - 72.1	USA (Georgia)	Stephanodus sp. (70720)
Campanian - Maastrichtian	83.6 - 66.0	Italy (Lecce)	Cretatriacanthus guidott (140248)
Early/Lower Campanian - Middle Campanian	83.5 - 70.6	USA (North Carolina)	Stephanodus sp. (57918)
Late/Upper Campanian	83.5 - 70.6	USA (Delaware)	Stephanodus sp. (27570)
Late/Upper Campanian	83.5 - 70.6	USA (New Jersey)	Stephanodus sp. (32181)
Middle Campanian - Late/Upper Campanian	83.5 - 70.6	USA (South Carolina)	Stephanodus sp. (79363)
Middle Campanian - Late/Upper Campanian	83.5 - 70.6	Mexico (Chihuahua)	Stephanodus sp. (35353)
Late/Upper Campanian - Early/Lower Maastrichtian	83.5 - 66.0	USA (New Jersey)	Stephanodus sp. (14504 57916)
Late/Upper Campanian - Early/Lower Maastrichtian	83.5 - 66.0	Syria	Stephanodus libycus (117850 117852 117853 117854 117855 117857)