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Bony fish

Balloonfish

Diodon holocanthus

Also known as: Balloon Porcupinefish, Balloon Pufferfish, Black-blotched Porcupinefish, Blotched Porcupine, Blotched Porcupinefish, Blowfish, Brown Porcupinefish, Fine-spotted Porcupinefish, Freckled Porcupinefish, Globefish, Hedgehog Fish, Longspine Porcupinefish, Longspine Puffer, Long-spined Porcupinefish, Mottled Porcupinefish, Porcupine, Porcupine Puffer, Porcupinefish, Spiny Balloonfish, Spiny Box Puffer, Spiny Boxfish, Spiny Puffer, Spiny Pufferfish, Spotted Porcupinefish, Swelltoad

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2015
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Adult
1
@Lincolntang · Lembeh Resort, Indonesia · February 20141 / 18
01

Overview

Found singly or in small schools, on open, soft bottoms, sometimes resting around rocks or in sponges, over coral and rocky reefs, rich in coral growth.
They feed nocturnally on hard shelled invertebrates.
Juveniles found with Sargassum rafts.

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!

02

How to identify

COLOURS
Pattern
spots
Behaviour
inflatesnocturnalschoolingsolitary

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Circumtropical
  • Country only · 18
LIVES IN

Found singly or in small schools, on open, soft bottoms, sometimes resting around rocks or in sponges, over coral and rocky reefs, rich in coral growth.

RANGE
04

Adult photos 18

05

Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderTetraodontiformes
    5. familyDiodontidae
    6. genusDiodon
    7. speciesDiodon holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Porcupinefishes-Burrfishes (Diodontidae)

    Birdbeak Burrfish

    Cyclichthys orbicularis

    19 photos

    Black-blotched Porcupinefish

    Diodon liturosus

    16 photos

    Black-lip Porcupinefish

    Lophodiodon calori

    3 photos

    Bridled Burrfish

    Chilomycterus antennatus

    1 photo

    Pelagic Porcupinefish

    Diodon eydouxii

    1 photo

    Spot-fin Porcupinefish

    Diodon hystrix

    39 photos

    Spotted Burrfish

    Chilomycterus reticulatus

    4 photos

    Striped Burrfish

    Chilomycterus schoepfii

    4 photos

    Three-bar Porcupinefish

    Dicotylichthys punctulatus

    1 photo

    Web Burrfish

    Chilomycterus antillarum

    10 photos

    Yellow-spotted Burrfish

    Cyclichthys spilostylis

    2 photos