titan triggerfish
Balistoides viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
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.

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Open encyclopedia reference
The titan triggerfish, giant triggerfish or moustache triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) is a large species of triggerfish found in lagoons and at reefs to depths of 50 m (160 ft) in most of the Indo-Pacific, though it is absent from Hawaii. With a length of up to 75 centimetres (30 in), it is the largest species of triggerfish in its range (the stone triggerfish, Pseudobalistes naufragium, from the east Pacific is larger).
Wikipedia contributors, Titan triggerfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:49:55.550186+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Balistoides viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
- Common name
- titan triggerfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Tetraodontiformes
- Family
- Balistidae
- Genus
- Balistoides
- 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
- genusBalistoides Fraser-Brunner, 1935
- speciesBalistoides viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Balistoides. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| clown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pachynathus nigromarginatus Tanaka, 1908 Tanaka, 1908 | synonym |
| Balistapus viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Balistes nigromarginatus (Tanaka, 1908) (Tanaka, 1908) | synonym |
| Balistes viridescens Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Balistoides veridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Pseudobalistes viridescens (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | synonym |
| Balistes brasiliensis Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Bloch & Schneider, 1801 | 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=219875 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:KH7S. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.