This small order of fish is filled with some of the more unusual oceanic and freshwater fish. Thy range greatly in size, from the 7-foot ocean sunfish to the 1-foot filefish. In most cases, their names give away their unusual appearance. The pufferfish can puff itself up into a large swimming ball, the burrfish is covered in spines, the ocean sunfish has a large, round body with a head that cannot be distinguished from the body, etc. Most of these species are rotund or box- like in shape, giving them the common names of boxfish, trunkfish, globefish, etc. There are 340 species in 9 families:
Balistidae (triggerfish) 30 spp
Diodontidae (porcupinefish, globefish)
Molidae (ocean sunfish) 4 spp
Monacanthidae (filefish)
Ostraciidae (boxfish, trunkfish, cowfish)
Tetraodontidae (pufferfish)
Triacanthodidae (spikefish)
Triodontidae (three-toothed pufferfish)
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