Tripodichthys
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| Tripodichthys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tripodichthys blochii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Triacanthidae |
| Genus: | Tripodichthys J. C. Tyler, 1968 |
| Type species | |
| Triacanthus blochii Bleeker, 1852 | |
Tripodichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Triacanthidae, the triplespines or tripodfishes. The three species in this genus are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean in shallow water over soft substrates.
Tripoichthys was first proposed as a genus in 1968 by the American ichthyologist James C. Tyler with Triacanthus blochii designated as its type species.[1]T. blochii had originally been described in 1852 by the Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker with its type locality given as Singapore.[2] Tripodichthys is classified within the family Triacanthidae and, in 1968, Tyler classified this family within the suborder Triacanthoidei alongside the Triacanthodidae.[3] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the Triacanthoidei as suborder of the order Tetraodontiformes.[4]
Species
Tripodichthys currently contains the following three valid species:[5]
- Tripodichthys angustifrons Hollard, 1854 (Black-flag tripodfish)
- Tripodichthys blochii (Bleeker, 1852) (Long-tail tripodfish)
- Tripodichthys oxycephalus (Bleeker, 1851) (Short-tail tripodfish)
Etymology
Tripodichthys comes from tripod and Ancient Greek ἰχθύς (ikhthús), meaning "fish", as it was envisioned that the fish rested on the subtrate using the two spines in the pelvic fin and the lower lobe of the caudal fin. The specific name of the type species honours Marcus Elieser Bloch, the describer of Triacanthus biaculeatus which was thought to be a congeneric with T. blochii. The specific name of T. angustifrons means "narrow forehead" and refers to this species thinner snout than Triacanthus brevirostris, its assumed congener. The third species has the specific name oxycephalus, meaning "sharp head", an allusion to the long, pointed head.[6]