Sphoeroides pachygaster
Blunthead Puffer
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Tetraodontidae (Puffers)
Sphoeroides
Sphoeroides pachygaster (Blunthead 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 / None.
Characters
A pufferfish with an extremely blunt head, with heavy jaws forming a beak of two teeth
in both upper and lower jaws. Body tot ally devoid of prickles and lappets. Dorsal and anal fins set far back
near caudal fin. Dorsal fin usu ally with 9 soft rays, anal fin with 8 or 9 soft rays. Colour: uni form brown or
grey on dorsal and lateral surfaces, fading ventr ally to a tot ally unpigmented ventral surface.
Body shape: short and / or deep. Body without prickles (Ref. 559). Brownish above, white below; occasionally with dark spots on flanks (Ref. 4919). Tip of or all lower ray of the caudal white.
Distribution
Found in all oceans of central and
temperate latitudes.
Habitat Associations
This is a deep water (to 400 m) species at central latitudes, although it may be
taken at sh allower depths in more temperate regions. Little is known of its natural history, and no known fishery
exists for the species.
Biology
Reaches about 250 mm, common to 200 mm.
Inhabit sandy, muddy and rocky bottoms (Ref. 2683). Young are pelagic (Ref. 7251). Feed mainly on squid. In southeast Brazil captured between 50 and 145 m (Ref. 47377).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984) The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text).
Schneider, W. (1990) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the commercial marine resources of the Gulf of Guinea. Prepared and published with the support of the FAO Regional Office for Africa. Rome: FAO. 268 p.
Smith, M.M. and P.C. Heemstra (1986) Tetraodontidae. p. 894-903. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Shipp, R.L. (1990) Tetraodontidae. p. 1069-1072. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
Pauly, D. and V. Christensen (1993) Stratified models of large marine ecosystems: a general approach, and an application to the South China Sea. p. 148-174. In K. Sherman, L.M. Alexander and B.D. Gold (eds.) Stress, Mitigation and Sustainability of Large Marine Ecosystems. AAAS Press, Washington, DC. 376 p.
Ragonese, S., P. Jereb and U. Morara (1997) Morphometric relationships of Sphoeroides pachygaster (Pisces - Tetraodontidae) of the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). Cah. Biol. Mar. 38:283-289.
Matsuura, K. and J.C. Tyler (1997) Tetraodontiform fishes, mostly from deep waters, of New Caledonia. p.173-208. In B. Séret (ed.) Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, vol. 17. no.9. Mem. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 174.
Comments On Sphoeroides pachygaster