The common toadfish (''Tetractenos hamiltoni''), also known as the common toado, toadfish or

toado Toado is a common name for a variety of species of fish in the family Tetraodontidae, including: * Common toado (also toado or common toadfish), ''Tetractenos hamiltoni'' * Clown toado The clown toado (''Canthigaster callisterna'') a pufferfis ...

, (formerly classified as ''Tetrodon hamiltoni''G.S. Hardy, "Revision of Australian species of ''Torquigener'' Whitley (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), and two new generic names for Australian puffer fishes," ''Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand'', Volume 13, No. 1/2, 1983, pp. 1–48

/ref> or ''Torquigener hamiltoni'') is a species of fish in the family

Tetraodontidae Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfi ...

of order

Tetraodontiformes The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by 10 extant families and at least ...

, found along Australia's eastern coast, from northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Flinders Island was the place where the last remnants of aboriginal Tasmanian population were exiled by the co ...

, and around

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland ...

, as well as in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

waters. It often buries itself in sand with only its eyes exposed.Fishbase - Tetractenos hamiltoni
accessed 8 March 2010
find mirrors
. The fish is sandy to whitish in colour, with small brown spots over most of the back and upper sides, and brown bars and blotches beneath.Australian Museum: Common Toadfish.
/ref> It has a maximum length of 14 cm. It is similar in appearance to the

smooth toadfish The smooth toadfish (''Tetractenos glaber'') is a species of fish in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Ch ...

, but has smaller spots and more prominent spines in the skin. Like some other fish, the common toadfish is able to vary the amount of pigment in its

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...

, which becomes yellow in colour under bright light. It is (rarely) used as an aquarium fish for brackish-water aquariums. Along with related toadfish species, it is known in Australia as a " toadie." As with other fish of this family, the flesh is poisonous, due to

tetrodotoxin Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Although tetrodotoxin was discove ...

, and eating the fish can have fatal consequences.Puffer fish poisoning: a potentially life-threatening condition
accessed 8 March 2010.

References

common toadfish Fish of Lord Howe Island common toadfish {{tetraodontiformes-stub

See also

References