Description
Also known as Balloonfish, Bridled Burrfish, Globefish, Hedgehog Fish, Orbicular Burrfish, Porcupine Pufferfish, Pufferfish, Round Burrfish, Rounded Porcupinefish, Shortspine Porcupinefish, Spiny Pufferfish, Swelltoad.
Found singly, often resting in large sponges during the day, over mud and sand bottoms, of clear, protected reefs, rich in algae and sponge growth.
They feed nocturnally on hard shell invertebrates.
Length - 30cm
Depth - 5-170m
Widespread South East Atlantic, Indo-West Pacific
Porcupinefish spines lay flat, but when threatened they can inflate like a "football with spikes" so the spines are facing outwards to deter prey. The have a plated mouth structure for crushing shells or "fingers".
Can give a nasty bite! Ref: https://www.fishbase.de/summary/cyclichthys-orbicularis
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