Sphoeroides testudineus
Checkered Puffer
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Tetraodontiformes (Pufferfishes and Allies)
Tetraodontidae (Puffers)
Sphoeroides
Sphoeroides testudineus (Checkered 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.)
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Characters
Snout is long and acute. Nostril is paired, and nares are located at ends of short tubes. Interorbital space is moderately narrow and flat to slightly moderately concave. Gill slit is arch shaped and slightly shorter than pectoral fin base. Gill rakers are very short and number 8 to 10. Measurements are expressed as percent of SL: head length 33%–38%, snout length 16%–19%, eye diameter 5%–10%, interorbital width 6%–8%, pectoral fin length 13%–17%, uninflated body depth 24%–27%. Pectoral fin has 13 to 16 (usually 14 or 15) rays. Dorsal fin has 7 to 9 rays. Anal fin is similar in shape to dorsal fin and has 6 to 8 rays. Spinules occur dorsally from interorbital region to dorsal fin origin, ventrally from chin to anus, and laterally in broad band behind pectoral fin.
Color is dark gray to olive dorsally, with a network of circular tan to yellowish lines forming a honeycomb pattern; tan laterally, with pupil-sized dark round spots; and white ventrally. A light honeycomb pattern on dorsal surface and one or two light bars in interorbital region.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Rhode Island to southeastern Brazil, including the Florida Keys, the southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles. Rare to absent in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters, bays, and estuaries. Depth range not specified.
Associated with sea-grass beds and rare on coral reefs.
Biology
Food consists of shellfishes.
Maximum known size is 300 mm TL.
Commonly found in bays, tidal creeks and protected coastal waters, especially on seagrass beds, and in brackish water. Rare or absent on coral reefs. Does not form schools, but may form huge aggregates. Hides in the sand when frightened (Ref. 9710). Feeds mainly on bivalves, gastropods, foraminiferans and several other benthic invertebrates specially crustaceans, which it crushes with its powerful teeth (Ref. 35237). To ward off predators, it inflates itself like a balloon. Highly toxic; used to poison cats and dogs (Ref. 2861).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning season is from late spring to early fall at Biscayne Bay, Florida. Mean length at first maturity is over 13 cm TL.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-06-07. Resilience: Low (K=0.51; rel. fec=1.146 eggs/ g body weight).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Shipp 1974, 2002
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Matsuura 1983w
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Pauly, D. (1991) Growth of the checkered puffer Sphoeroides testudineus: postscript to papers by Targett and Pauly & Ingles. Fishbyte 9(1):19-22.
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.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 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.
Claro, R. (1994) Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Austin, H. and S. Austin (1971) The feeding habits of some juvenile marine fishes from the mangroves in western Puerto Rico. Caribb. J. Sci. 11(3-4):171-178.
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.
Yáñes-Arancibia, A., A.L. Lara-Domínguez and J.W. Day Jr. (1993) Interactions between mangrove and seagrass habitats mediated by estuarine nekton assemblages: coupling of primary and secondary production. Hydrobiologia 264:1-12.
Comments On Sphoeroides testudineus