| Long-spine porcupinefish | |
|---|---|
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| Diodon holocanthus at theAudubon Aquarium | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Diodontidae |
| Genus: | Diodon |
| Species: | D. holocanthus |
| Binomial name | |
| Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
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| Distribution of the long-spine porcupinefish | |
Thelong-spine porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus), also known as thefreckled porcupinefish,porcupine puffer, andporcupine pufferfish, is aspecies of marinefish in thefamilyDiodontidae.[2]
The long-spine porcupinefish is pale in color with large black blotches and smaller black spots; these spots becoming fewer in number with age. It has many long, two-rooted depressiblespines particularly on its head. The teeth of the two jaws are fused into a parrot-like "beak". Adults may reach 50 cm (20 in) in length.[3] The only other fish with which it might be confused is theblack-blotched porcupinefish (Diodon liturosus), but it has much longer spines than that species.[4]
The long-spine porcupine fish is an omnivore that feeds onmollusks,sea urchins,hermit crabs,snails, andcrabs during its active phase at night.[5] They use their beak combined with plates on the roof of their mouths to crush their prey such as mollusks and sea urchins that would otherwise be indigestible.[6][7]
The long-spine porcupinefish has a circumtropical distribution, being found in thetropical zones of majorseas andoceans:
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They are found over the muddy sea bottom, in estuaries, inlagoons or on coral and rocky reefs around the world in tropical and subtropical seas.[9]
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Spawns at the surface atdawn or atdusk in pairs or in groups of males with a single female; thejuveniles remainpelagic until they are at least 7 cm (3 in) long.[3] Young and sub-adult fish sometimes occur in groups.
Media related toDiodon holocanthus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toDiodon holocanthus at Wikispecies