Birdbeak burrfish
Cyclichthys orbicularis
Web Burrfish
Chilomycterus antillarum
About
The web burrfish is a small, spine-covered reef fish that lives in the Western Atlantic, from Florida and the Bahamas down to Brazil. It grows to about 30 cm and is best known for the fine, dark web pattern covering its body.
- Length
- 30 cm
- Depth
- up to 44 m
How to tell it apart
Other spiny puffers can look similar at a glance, but check by the pectoral fin: the paired black spots there, one large and one small, are a strong marker for the web burrfish.
Appearance
A maze of fine dark lines crosses this fish's body, cutting off pale, cell-like patches, with five or more larger black blotches scattered over the top. Short spines stand rigidly upright over the whole body. A large black spot sits above each pectoral fin, with a smaller one just behind and below it.
Did you know?
Between 1995 and 2000, at least ten web burrfish were recorded traded as aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil.
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