Sphoeroides maculatus
Northern Puffer
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Tetraodontidae (Puffers)
Sphoeroides
Sphoeroides maculatus (Northern Puffer)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
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Synonymy
None / Sphoeroides nephelus (Goode and Bean, 1882).
Characters
A blunt-headed fish with heavy jaws forming a beak of 2 teeth in both upper and lower
jaws. Dorsal and anal fins set far back near caudal fin; dorsal fin usu ally with 8 soft rays (no spines), anal fin with
7 soft rays (no spines); pectoral fins with 16 rays; pelvic fins absent. Body c overed with prickles from around
mouth region to dorsal and anal fins. No lappets on head or body. Colour: upper side grey or brown with
poorly defined black spots and saddles; belly yellow to white; tiny jet-black pepper spots (about 1 mm in di-
ameter) scattered over most of pigmented surface, particularly evident on cheeks; lower sides with a row
of black, elongate, bar-like markings.
Body shape: short and / or deep. Upper side grey or brown with poorly defined black spots and saddles. Belly yellow to white. Tiny jet-black pepper spots (about 1 mm in diameter) scattered over most of pigmented surface, particularly evident on cheeks. Lower sides with a row of black, elongate, bar-like markings. No lappets on head or body (Ref 53033).
Distribution
Restricted to the nor thern part of
the area, off nor theast Florida, northward ex-
tending to Newfoundl and.
Habitat Associations
Found in bays and estuaries, as well as offshore waters to depths of at least
60 m. Not a schooling species, but often occurring in large disorganized aggregations. Feeds primarily on
shellfish, occasion ally on finfish.
Biology
Maximum 250 mm; common to 200 mm.
Inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters. Sold as `sea squab' in northern part of range. Feeds primarily on shellfish, occasionally on finfish. Reportedly non-toxic.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-10. Resilience: High (K=0.6).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
The l andings
within the area, as reported by the USA, are neg-
ligible, but catches are higher fur ther north;
caught mainly with crab pots and on
hook-and-line; marketed fresh as ‘Sea squab’;
reportedly non-toxic, but often confused with
toxic species.
References
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 p.
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.
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.
Comments On Sphoeroides maculatus