Longspined porcupinefish

Biology

The longspined porcupinefish is a solitary fish that lives in grassy flats and coral reefs of shallow waters. It has dark patches, a beak-like snout and spines all over its body. When disturbed, it swallows mouthfuls of air or water, the body inflates and the spines stick out at right angles. Thus it has an effective armour to protect itself against predators. It feeds at night and rests during the day.

Conservation

This species has a very wide range. Furthermore, the ability to inflate its spine-covered body makes it a difficult target for predation.

Curiosities

This species is often mistaken for the spot-fin porcupinefish (Diodon hystrix), however the spots on the fins are absent in the longspined porcupinefish.