Chilomycterus
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Chilomycterus is a genus of diodontid tetraodontiform fishes commonly called "burrfish".
Distribution
A majority of Chilomycterus species are found in the Atlantic Ocean, and primarily in the western Atlantic. Only one species, C. reticulatus, is also found in the Indo-Pacific region. The western Atlantic appears to have always been a region of diversity for the genus, as a majority of fossil species have been found there. Only a single indeterminate fossil assigned to this genus is known from the Pacific coast of Panama.
Species
There are currently five recognized species in this genus:
- Chilomycterus antennatus (G. Cuvier, 1816) (bridled burrfish)
- Chilomycterus antillarum D. S. Jordan & Rutter, 1897 (web burrfish)
- Chilomycterus mauretanicus (Y. Le Danois, 1954) (Guinean burrfish)
- Chilomycterus reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (spotfin burrfish)
- Chilomycterus schoepfii (Walbaum, 1792) (striped burrfish)
- Chilomycterus spinosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Fossil species
The following fossil species are known:
- †Chilomycterus circumflexus (Leriche, 1942) (Middle to Late Miocene of Cuba and Florida & North Carolina, US) (=Diodon circumflexus Leriche, 1942)
- †Chilomycterus dzonotensis Cantalice et al., 2025 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Mexico)
- †Chilomycterus exspectatus Aguilera et al, 2017 (Late Miocene of Panama)
- †Chilomycterus ferreirai (Santos & Travassos 1960) (Early Miocene of Brazil & Venezuela)
- †Chilomycterus gatunensis (Toula, 1909) (Late Miocene of Panama)
- †Chilomycterus kugleri (Casier, 1958) (Late Miocene of Trinidad)
- †Chilomycterus tyleri Aguilera et al, 2017 (Late Miocene of Panama)
- †Chilomycterus vetus (Leidy, 1877) (Middle Miocene of Trinidad, Late Miocene of Florida, US)
The former species C. acanthodes from the Miocene of Italy is now placed in Oligodiodon.