Sphoeroides dorsalis
Marbled Puffer
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Tetraodontidae (Puffers)
Sphoeroides
Sphoeroides dorsalis (Marbled Puffer)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Has a pair of lappets on dorsal surface behind eyes. Snout is long and acute. Nostril is paired, and nares are at ends of short tubes. Interorbital space is narrow and slightly concave. Gill slit is arch shaped and is slightly shorter than pectoral fin base. Gill rakers are very short and number 9 to 12. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 32%–40%, snout length 19%–25%, eye diameter 6%–10%, pectoral fin length 13%–17%, uninflated body depth 21%–24%. Pectoral fin has 15 to 17 rays. Dorsal fin is narrow based and has 8 rays. Anal fin is similar in shape to dorsal fin and has 7 rays. Body is covered with small spinules except on dorsum posterior to lappets, on cheeks, and on belly anterior to pectoral fin base.
Color is uniformly gray to brown dorsally, with a diffuse bar over interorbital region and one or two diffuse blotches on head behind orbit, and white ventrally, with one to five diffuse spots on lower flank behind pectoral fin base. Lappets on back are dark in adults but may be tan in juveniles.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and the Bahamas to northern Suriname, including the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Occurs between 18 and 90 m. Juveniles apparently occur near shore.
Biology
Maximum known size is 200 mm TL.
Found over soft bottoms.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 101750).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Shipp 1974, 2002
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes (2000) Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI.Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Brazil. 116 p.
Shipp, R.L. (2003) Tetraodontidae. Puffers. p. 1988-2006. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.
Watson, W. (1996) Tetraodontidae: Puffers. p. 1428-1441. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505p.
Comments On Sphoeroides dorsalis