Balistes punctatus Gmelin, 1789
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
Balistes punctatus, the bluespotted triggerfish or spotted triggerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Balistidae, the triggerfishes. This species occurs in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean off the Western coast of Africa.
Wikipedia contributors, Balistes punctatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:07:49.672534+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Balistes punctatus Gmelin, 1789
- Name authority
- Gmelin, 1789
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Balistidae
- Genus
- Balistes
- 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
- genusBalistes Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesBalistes punctatus Gmelin, 1789
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Balistes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| finescale triggerfishBalistes polylepis Steindachner, 1876 | 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 radiata Bowdich, 1825 Bowdich, 1825 | synonym |
| Balistes guttatus Walbaum, 1792 Walbaum, 1792 | synonym |
| Balistes liberiensis Steindachner, 1867 Steindachner, 1867 | synonym |
| Balsistes punctatus Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Balistes ciliaris Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Balistes dichrostigma Duméril, 1861 Duméril, 1861 | 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.
- Gmelin, J. F. (1789). Caroli a Linné ... Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species; cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio Decimo Tertia, Aucta, Reformata. 3 Vols. In 9 Parts. Lipsiae, 1788–93. v. 1 (pt 3): 1033–1516 [Fishes on pp. 1126–1516]. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.125970 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:KH6D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.