Porcupinefish are medium-to-large
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
belonging to the family Diodontidae from the order
Tetraodontiformes
Tetraodontiformes (), also known as the Plectognathi, is an order of ray-finned fishes which includes the pufferfishes and related taxa. This order has been classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes, although recent studies have found ...
which are also commonly called blowfish and, sometimes, balloonfish and globefish. The family includes about 18 species. They are sometimes collectively called pufferfish,
not to be confused with the morphologically similar and closely related
Tetraodontidae
Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, ...
, which are more commonly given this name.
They are found in shallow, temperate, and tropical seas worldwide. A few species are found much further out from shore, wherein large schools of thousands of individuals can occur.
Taxonomy
Extant genera
The following genera are known:
* ''
Allomycterus''
McCulloch, 1921
* ''
Chilomycterus''
Brisout de Barneville, 1846
* ''
Cyclichthys''
Kaup, 1855
* ''
Diodon
Porcupinefishes or balloonfishes, are any of the various species of the genus ''Diodon'', the type genus of Diodontidae.
Distinguishing features
Fish of the genus ''Diodon'' have:
* two-rooted, movable spines (which are derived from modified s ...
''
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758
* ''
Dicotylichthys''
Kaup, 1855
* ''
Lophodiodon''
Fraser-Brunner, 1943
* ''
Tragulichthys''
Whitley, 1931
Fossil genera

The following genera are known only from fossil remains:
* †''
Eodiodon''
Casier, 1952 (Late Eocene of Belgium)
* †''
Heptadiodon''
Bronn, 1855 (Early Eocene of Italy)
* †''
Oligodiodon''
Sauvage, 1873 (Miocene of Austria & Italy)
* †''
Prodiodon''
Ladanois, 1955 (Early Eocene of Italy)
* †''
Progymnodon''
Dames, 1883 (mid-late Eocene of the United States and Romania)
* †''
Pshekhadiodon''
Bannikov & Tyler, 1997 (Middle Eocene of the North Caucasus, Russia)
* †''
Zignodon''
Tyler & Santini, 2002 (Early Eocene of Italy)
Characteristics
Porcupinefish are generally slow-moving.
[
They have the ability to inflate their bodies by swallowing water or air, thereby becoming rounder. This increase in size (almost double vertically) reduces the range of potential predators to those with much larger mouths. A second defense mechanism is provided by the sharp spines, which radiate outwards when the fish is inflated.
They have upper and lower teeth that fuse into a shape of a parrot's beak; they use this beak to eat ]molluscs
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
and sea urchins
Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body covered by a spiny p ...
.
Some species are poisonous, having tetrodotoxin
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an Order (biology), order that includes Tetraodontidae, pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Alt ...
in their internal organs, such as the ovaries and liver. This neurotoxin
Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...
is at least 1,200 times more potent than cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
. The poison is produced by several types of bacteria obtained from the fish's diet. As a result of these three defenses, porcupinefish have few predators, though adults are sometimes preyed upon by sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
and orca
The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...
s. Juveniles are also preyed on by '' Lysiosquillina maculata'', tuna
A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
, and dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
s.[
]
Relationship with humans
Consumption
Porcupinefish are eaten as food fish
Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their meat has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients in the human diet.
The English language does not have a s ...
and are an exotic delicacy in Cebu
Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
, Philippines, where they are called ''tagotongan''. However, pufferfish can be dangerous to consume since they can cause tetrodotoxin
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an Order (biology), order that includes Tetraodontidae, pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Alt ...
poisoning.
In popular culture
The porcupine fish (as ''Diodon antennatus'') is mentioned in Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
's famous account of his trip around the world, ''The Voyage of the Beagle
''The Voyage of the Beagle'' is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ''Journal and Remarks'', bringing him considerable fame and respect. This was the third volume of ''The Narrative ...
''. He noted how the fish can swim quite well when inflated, though the altered buoyancy requires them to do so upside down. Darwin also mentioned hearing a fellow naturalist, Dr. Allen of Forres
Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
, had "frequently found a ''Diodon'', floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the shark; and that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only through the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the monster".
Gallery
File:Pufferfish (Butete).jpg, A porcupinefish in an aquarium
File:Porcupine fish.jpg, A dead porcupinefish with clearly visible spines on the shore
File:Preserved porcupine fish at a lab.jpg, Preserved porcupine fish in a laboratory
File:Porcupinefish1.jpg, A dead porcupinefish washed up on a beach
File:Porcupinefish2.jpg, A dead porcupinefish
File:Diodon nicthemerus - southern globefish - tokyosealifepark - 2019-1-8.webm, (video) Diodon nicthemerus
Porcupinefishes or balloonfishes, are any of the various species of the genus ''Diodon'', the type genus of Diodontidae.
Distinguishing features
Fish of the genus ''Diodon'' have:
* two-rooted, movable spines (which are derived from modified ...
swimming
See also
*List of fish families
This is a list of fish families sorted alphabetically by scientific name. There are 525 families in the list.
__NOTOC__
A - B - C - D - E - F -
G - H - I - J - K -
L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
- ...
* List of marine aquarium fish species
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q329334
Diodontidae
Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte