Pufferfish

Pufferfish are round-bodied reef fish that can blow themselves up into a ball when threatened. In this app the group includes the blackspotted puffer, the white-spotted puffer, and the guineafowl puffer.

Look for a slow, rounded fish with a beak-like mouth and small eyes set high on the head. If threatened, it can suck in water and swell into a near-ball shape, which is the clearest sign of this group. Members are told apart mainly by spot, stripe, or line pattern on the body.

Pufferfish are small to medium in size, though some species can grow past 50 cm. They have four fused, beak-like teeth instead of separate teeth, and no ribs or pelvic fins. Many have small spines on the skin instead of normal scales, which may only show once the fish inflates.

Pufferfish are most common in tropical waters, less common in temperate seas, and absent from cold water. Most live in the sea or in brackish water, though some species spend their whole life in fresh water.

Pufferfish are slow, easy targets for predators, so they rely on good eyesight and a quick burst of speed to escape at first. If caught, they can fill their stomach with water or air to swell up almost round, showing off pointed spines that make them hard to swallow.

Pufferfish mostly eat algae and small invertebrates. Larger species can also use their beak-like teeth to crack open clams, mussels, and other shellfish.

Many pufferfish spawn in open water, where males push or follow females to the surface to release round, floating eggs that hatch after about four days. Freshwater species often court and lay eggs on plants or hard surfaces instead, and in some species the male guards the eggs until they hatch.

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  Blackspotted puffer

  Arothron nigropunctatus

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  Bullseye Puffer

  Sphoeroides annulatus

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  Caribbean Sharpnose Puffer

  Canthigaster rostrata

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  Checkered Puffer

  Sphoeroides testudineus

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  Guineafowl Puffer

  Arothron meleagris

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  Macaronesian Sharpnose Puffer

  Canthigaster capistrata