Porcupinefish

ID points

• Long spines all over the body, all standing up when it inflates
• Large bulging eyes with a gold-green sheen in the iris
• Black round spots scattered on the body, none on the spines

Basics

Family

Diodontidae

Length

25–50 cm

Depth

2-100 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical coral and rocky reefs worldwide

Habitat

Coral and rocky reefs, hiding in caves by day

Diet

Molluscs, sea urchins, crabs

Easily confused with

Blackspotted PufferSparse large black spots on a grey-blue or yellow groundBoxfishThe body is encased in bony plates, almost square in cross sectionClown TriggerfishA patch of large round white spots on the belly

Fun fact

A porcupinefish is covered in hard spines that lie flat against the body most of the time. In danger it swallows a great deal of water and inflates into a ball, and the spines stand out in every direction, leaving a predator with nowhere to bite.