Northern puffer
Northern puffer | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
Family: | Tetraodontidae |
Genus: | Sphoeroides |
Species: | S. spheroides
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Binomial name | |
Sphoeroides spheroides (
Linnaeus , 1758) |
The northern puffer, Sphoeroides spheroides, is a species in the family
Description
The northern puffer has the shape of a club.[6] Adults have small spines covering the entire body with a tiny beak-like mouth. It is characterized by vertical stripes with a gray to brown dorsal surface and a yellow to white belly.[6] It has tiny jet-black pepper spots (about 1 mm in diameter) scattered over most of pigmented surface, particularly evident on cheeks. Lower sides of the body have a row of black, elongate, bar-like markings. A small dorsal fin is set far back near the tail. Sphoeroides maculatus, like others in the puffer family, "puffs up" into a ball in self-defense by inhaling water into a special chamber near its stomach. They will puff up with air if taken out of the water. The northern puffer reaches up to 36 cm (1 ft 2 in) in length, but is usually around 20 cm (8 in).[2]
Habitat
The northern puffer inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters at depths of 10–183 m (33–600 ft) in the northwest Atlantic.
Diet
The northern puffer feeds primarily on shellfish, and occasionally on finfish. Using its beak-like mouth it can extract shellfish from their shells and sometimes break the shells to obtain a meal. They will attack blue crabs, blowing water underneath to turn the crab over, then attack the underside before it can right itself.[citation needed]
Life cycle
Northern puffers spawn from May through August in shallow water over sandy or muddy bottoms. The adhesive eggs are defended by the male until they hatch.[6]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2008). "Sphoeroides maculatus" in FishBase. June 2008 version.
- ^ a b Sibunka, John D.; Pacheco, Anthony L. (February 1981). "Biological and Fisheries Data on northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculates (Bloch and Schneider)". Highlands, New Jersey: Sandy Hook Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service. Technical Series Report No 26. Retrieved 29 July 2023 – via NOAA Institutional Repository.
- ISBN 9780030154317.
- ^ Misak, Bob (17 June 2014). "Chicken of the Sea". On the Water. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Northern Puffer". Chesapeake Bay Program Bay Field Guide. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.