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Return to Menu| Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus, 1758 | ||
| Family: | Diodontidae (Porcupinefishes (burrfishes)) | picture (Dihol_u3.jpg)
by Patzner,
R.
 |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes | |
| Class: | Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) | |
| FishBase name: | Long-spine porcupinefish | |
| Distribution: |
Circumtropical in distribution. Western Atlantic: Florida, USA and the Bahamas to Brazil (Ref. 7251). Eastern Atlantic: 30°N to 23°S (Ref. 6951); also South Africa (Ref. 4423). Western Central Pacific: absent from the Pacific Plate, except peripherally such as Hawaii, Pitcarin and Easter (Ref. 9680). Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to Colombia (Ref. 11482) and the Galapagos Islands (Ref. 5227). | |
| Diagnosis: | Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal softrays (total): 13-15; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft-rays: 13-15. Pelagic juveniles with spots, particularly prominent on belly; adults with dark blotches across back and spots between the blotches; fins without spots (Ref. 4423). 14 to 16 spines in an approximate row between snout and origin of dorsal fin; with a large brown bar above and below each eye; a broad transverse brown bar on occipital region of head (Ref. 13442). | |
| Biology: | Inhabits shallow reefs to open, soft bottoms. Also in areas with rocky substrata. Sometimes forms groups (Ref. 9710). Juveniles pelagic to about 6-9 cm. Solitary. Feeds on mollusks, sea urchins, hermit crabs, and crabs at night (Ref. 9680). A relatively poor swimmer (Ref. 9710). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Captured at the surface using a hand net (Ref. 26165). | |
| Max. size: | 50.0 cm TL (male/unsexed) | |
| Environment: | reef-associated; marine ; depth range 2 - 100 m | |
| Climate: | tropical | |
| Importance: | fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial | |
| Threatened: | Not in IUCN Red List () , (Ref. 36508) | |
| Dangerous: | reports of ciguatera poisoning | |
| Coordinator: | ||
| Main Ref: | Leis, J.M.. 1984. (Ref. 3393) | |
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