Chilomycterus

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 5 recognized species in this genus:

Chilomycterus antennatus
Chilomycterus antillarum D. S. Jordan & Rutter, 1897
Chilomycterus mauretanicus
Chilomycterus reticulatus
Chilomycterus schoepfii
''Chilomycterus spinosus''
Fossil species

The following fossil species are known:

†Chilomycterus ''circumflexus
†Chilomycterus dzonotensis Cantalice et al., 2025
†Chilomycterus exspectatus Aguilera et al, 2017
†Chilomycterus ferreirai
†Chilomycterus gatunensis
†Chilomycterus kugleri
†Chilomycterus tyleri Aguilera et al, 2017
†Chilomycterus vetus

The former species C. acanthodes from the Miocene of Italy is now placed in Oligodiodon''.