Indian triggerfish

Open encyclopedia reference

The Indian triggerfish (Melichthys indicus), also known as the black-finned triggerfish, has a brown body and black fins with white lines at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. It is found across the Indian Ocean. They can grow up to 10 in (25 cm) long.

The Indian triggerfish usually feeds on hard-shelled mollusks and echinoderms, but some feed on algae and zooplankton. They are often very aggressive over their eggs, but are otherwise harmless. Indian triggerfish are very easy to keep at home. Some are peaceful but some are very aggressive towards other fish.

These are not to be confused with the Hawaiian black triggerfish or black durgon (Melichthys niger), which is often mistaken as being Indian triggerfish within the trade. The Indian triggerfish has never been found near Hawaii, but the two species bear a striking resemblance between each other because of the similar shape and coloration.

Wikipedia contributors, Indian triggerfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:27:42.330162+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Melichthys indicus Randall & Klausewitz, 1973

Name authority

Randall & Klausewitz, 1973

Common name

Indian triggerfish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Tetraodontiformes

Family

Balistidae

Genus

Melichthys

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderTetraodontiformes
11. suborderBalistoidei
12. familyBalistidae Rafinesque, 1810
13. genusMelichthys Swainson, 1839
14. speciesMelichthys indicus Randall & Klausewitz, 1973

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 28 records assigned to Balistidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Randall, J. E., & Klausewitz, W. (1973). A review of the triggerfish genus Melichthys, with description of a new species from the Indian Ocean. Senckenbergiana Biologica, 54 (1/3): 57–69. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:6QYRT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.