triggerfish

Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored, marine, ray-finned fishes belonging to 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-Pacific. Most are found in relatively shallow, coastal habitats, especially at coral reefs, but a few, such as the oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata), are pelagic. While several species from this family are popular in the marine aquarium trade, they are often notoriously ill-tempered.

==Taxonomy== The triggerfish family, Balistidae, was first proposed in 1810 by French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. The closest relatives to the triggerfishes are the filefishes belonging to the family Monacanthidae, and these two families are sometimes classified together in the suborder Balistoidei, for example in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World. Other authorities, however, also include the families Aracanidae and Ostraciidae within the suborder Balistoidei.