Tetraodontiform

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tetraodontiform, (order Tetradontiformes), any member of a group of primarily tropical marine fishes that are closely related to the perciforms (the typical advanced spiny-rayed fishes) that evolved during the Eocene Period of the Cenozoic Era, about 50 million years ago. Included are the triggerfishes, puffers, filefishes, and porcupine fishes.

The approximately 360 species of modern tetraodontiforms are notable for a high degree of diversity in anatomical structure and way of life. The great diversity evident among the nine families of the order is also seen within some families but not in others. Members of the deepwater bottom-dwelling Triacanthodidae, the most primitive family, for example, range from relatively normal configurations to weirdly specialized forms with extremely long tubular snouts; the shallow-water members of the Triacanthidae, which share generalized characteristics with the Triacanthodidae, are of rather uniform configuration. Likewise, the balistids are rather uniform in body plan; however, the monacanthids include a series of species ranging from the normal to the exceedingly elongated and highly specialized.