niger, Balistes Bloch [M. E.] 1786:27, Pl. 152 (fig. 2) [Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische v. 2; ref. 465] No locality [? China]. Lectotype: ZMB 5901 (stuffed). Paralectotypes: lost. Type catalog: Paepke 1999:50 [ref. 24282]. Plate is labeled Balistes ringens. Based in part on Balistes ringens Linnaeus 1758. On p. 24 of Bloch's Ichthyologie, v. 5 [ref. 21381]. Lectotype selected by Paepke 1999:50 [ref. 24282]. •Valid as Melichthys niger (Bloch 1786) -- (Berry & Baldwin 1966:447 [ref. 20607], Moore 1967:693 [ref. 22820], Randall & Klausewitz 1973:60 [ref. 7581], Kyushin et al. 1977:346 [ref. 19756], Eschmeyer & Herald 1983:296 [ref. 9277], Matsuura in Masuda et al. 1984:358 [ref. 6441], Robins & Ray 1986:303 [ref. 23100], Smith & Heemstra 1986:879 [ref. 5714], Edwards & Glass 1987:668 [ref. 9166], Allen & Swainston 1988:150 [ref. 25477], Winterbottom et al. 1989:68 [ref. 13251], Harmelin-Vivien & Quéro 1990:1059 [ref. 19527], Randall et al. 1990:454 [ref. 15987], Cervigón 1992:266 [ref. 23827], Allen & Robertson 1994:295 [ref. 22193], Bussing in Fischer et al. 1995:908 [ref. 22829], Cervigón 1996:79 [ref. 24489], Allen & Robertson 1997:834 [ref. 41086], Lindberg et al. 1997:61 [ref. 23547], Allen 1997:238 [ref. 23977], De La Cruz Agüero et al. 1997:66 [ref. 24545], Grove & Lavenberg 1997:630 [ref. 24023], Kuiter 1997:386 [ref. 25488], Randall & Mundy 1998:331 [ref. 24063], Myers 1999:281 [ref. 23965], Fricke 1999:579 [ref. 24106], Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999:346 [ref. 25013], Afonso et al. 1999:87 [ref. 25466], Allen 2000:94 [ref. 37268], Matsuura in Randall & Lim 2000:647 [ref. 25122], Nakabo 2000:1396 [ref. 25182], Schmitter-Soto et al. 2000:170 [ref. 27754], Gasparini & Floeter 2001:1646 [ref. 25634], Hutchins 2001:47 [ref. 25847], Matsuura 2001:3924 [ref. 26315], Nakabo 2002:1396 [ref. 26193], Allen & Adrim 2003:64 [ref. 26830], Collette et al. 2003:126 [ref. 26784], Feitoza et al. 2003:69 [ref. 26943], Matsuura 2003:1968 [ref. 27119], Manilo & Bogorodsky 2003:S123 [ref. 27377], Myers & Donaldson 2003:649 [ref. 27495], Menezes in Menezes et al. 2003:109 [ref. 27192], Lobel & Lobel 2004:77 [ref. 27576], Smith et al. 2003:69 [ref. 27621], Nelson et al. 2004:184 [ref. 27807], Love et al. 2005:179 [ref. 37547], Randall 2005:623 [ref. 28239], Mundy 2005:524 [ref. 28379], McEachran & Fechhelm 2005:899 [ref. 28815], Vaske et al. 2005:77 [ref. 36155], Allen et al. 2006:1872 [ref. 29098], Wirtz et al. 2007:42 [ref. 30263], Randall 2007:470 [ref. 30952], Béarez & Séret 2009:151 [ref. 36646], Fricke et al. 2009:116 [ref. 30213], McCosker & Rosenblatt 2010:195 [ref. 30957], Allen & Erdmann 2012:1063 [ref. 31980], Page et al. 2013:189 [ref. 32708], Fricke et al. 2013:272 [ref. 32706], Wirtz et al. 2013:136 [ref. 32972], Smith-Vaniz & Jelks 2014:86 [ref. 33341], Wirtz et al. 2014:12 [ref. 33516], Matsuura 2014:7 [ref. 33576], Delrieu-Trottin et al. 2015:8 [ref. 33988], Pinheiro et al. 2015:34 [ref. 34324], Matsuura in Carpenter & De Angelis 2016:3054 [ref. 34618], Fourriére et al. 2016:451 [ref. 34668], Del Moral-Flores et al. 2016:612 [ref. 34923], Robertson et al. 2016:148 [ref. 34961], Kells et al. 2016:338 [ref. 35888], Fricke et al. 2018:377 [ref. 35805], Brown et al. 2019:182 [ref. 36444], Fricke et al. 2019:321 [ref. 36673], Reiner 2019:303 [ref. 38139], Robertson et al. 2020:151 [ref. 38098], Escobar-Sierra et al. 2021:78 [ref. 38844], Parenti 2021:655 [ref. 38921], Bennema & van Moorsel 2022:73 [ref. 39585], Fermon et al. 2022:310 [ref. 39448] possible, Love et al. 2021:223 [ref. 39279], Grove et al. 2022:22 [ref. 41326], Matsuura 2022:420 [ref. 40250], Carvalho-Filho 2023:277 [ref. 40480], Page et al. 2023:170 [ref. 40505], Vela-Espinosa et al. 2023:12 [ref. 40981], Silva et al. 2024:4 [ref. 41512]). Current status: Valid as Melichthys niger (Bloch 1786). Balistidae. Distribution: Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical seas (including Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, southern Gulf of California/Mexico). Habitat: marine.