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Bony fish

Spot-fin Porcupinefish

Diodon hystrix

Also known as: Balloonfish, Black-spotted Porcupinefish, Blowfish, Freckled Porcupinefish, Giant Porcupinefish, Globefish, Hedgehog, Hedgehogfish, Porcupine Puffer, Pufferfish, Spiny Box Puffer, Spiny Boxfish, Spiny Puffer, Spotted Porcupine, Spotted Porcupinefish, Spotted Spiny Puffer, Swelltoad

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2015
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Adult
1
@fishx6 · Lembeh Resort, Indonesia · August 20081 / 39
01

Overview

Found singly, in caves and holes in shallow reefs, also deeper waters of lagoons and seaward reefs.
They feed nocturnally, on hard shell invertebrates.

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
brown spotsspots
Body shape
spines
Behaviour
inflatesnocturnalshelters in cavessolitary

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Circumtropical
  • Exact location · 5
  • Country only · 34
LIVES IN

Found singly, in caves and holes in shallow reefs, also deeper waters of lagoons and seaward reefs.

RANGE
04

Adult photos 39

05

Discussion 1

Comments are checked by a moderator before they appear.

1 comment

  • Caroline Smith· 26 Apr 2018

    Saw one of these in shallow water off Hong Island, Krabi, Thailand April 25th 2018. Estimate 50cm length. Sorry no photo, my partner had the camera a few yards away!

    Helpful· 1
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FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

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

SourcesWoRMSFishBase

06

More in the family

Porcupinefishes-Burrfishes (Diodontidae)

Balloonfish

Diodon holocanthus

18 photos

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

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