Pufferfish

ID points

• Swells into a ball with water when alarmed, pushing out short spines
• Four fused plate-like front teeth at the mouth
• Swims slowly, using small beats of the pectoral fins

Basics

Family

Tetraodontidae

Length

15–40 cm

Depth

1-50 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Tropical to subtropical coral reefs worldwide

Habitat

Shallow coral reefs and lagoons

Diet

Crustaceans, molluscs, coral

Easily confused with

Guineafowl PufferInk-black body covered in dense, even white spotsBlackspotted PufferSparse large black spots on a grey-blue or yellow groundSharpnose PufferLong pointed snout; slimmer than an ordinary puffer

Fun fact

The tetrodotoxin (TTX) inside a pufferfish is more than 1000 times as toxic as potassium cyanide, and it is concentrated mainly in the liver and the ovaries. When threatened, the fish gulps water fast and swells into a ball up to 3 times its normal volume.