Sargassum triggerfish
Xanthichthys ringens (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Xanthichthys ringens, the sargassum triggerfish or redtail triggerfish, is a species of triggerfish from the Western Atlantic, ranging from North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico to the Lesser Antilles and Brazil. Like many other triggerfish, this fish occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Xanthichthys ringens; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:52:27.060153+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xanthichthys ringens (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Sargassum triggerfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Balistidae
- Genus
- Xanthichthys
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTetraodontiformes
- suborderBalistoidei
- familyBalistidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusXanthichthys Kaup, 1856
- speciesXanthichthys ringens (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Xanthichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| striped triggerfishXanthichthys lineopunctatus (Hollard, 1854) | BalistidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xanthichthys caeruleolineatus Randall, Matsuura & Zama, 1978 | BalistidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| redtail triggerfishXanthichthys mento (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | BalistidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Balistes elongatus Hollard, 1854 Hollard, 1854 | synonym |
| Balistes ringens Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | ambiguous synonym |
| Balistes curassavicus Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Balistes heckeli Müller, 1865 Müller, 1865 | synonym |
| Balistes heckelii Müller, 1865 Müller, 1865 | synonym |
| Balistes cicatricosus Poey, 1860 Poey, 1860 | synonym |
| Balistes nitidus Gronow, 1854 Gronow, 1854 | synonym |
| Balistes notatus Gronow, 1854 Gronow, 1854 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159486 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:7G73R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.