Species: Sphoeroides nephelus, Southern Puffer

Sphoeroides nephelus (Goode & Bean, 1882)

Southern Puffer

Body oblong, thick, inflatable; head blunt; concave between eyes; snout relatively long; nasal organ on each side a short papilla with 2 small holes at end; eyes high on sides of head; jaws are a strong beak composed of 4 fused heavy powerful teeth with a central suture on each jaw; a slit-like gill opening in front of the pectoral fin base; a single short- based dorsal fin at rear of body; a similar-shaped anal fin with origin under or behind last few dorsal rays; dorsal rays 8, anal rays 7; pectoral usually 14-15 (rarely 13); no pelvic fins; no spines in the fins; tail fin edge slightly rounded, with 10 main rays; tough scaleless skin, no skin flaps on back; prickles cover varying parts of body, sometimes absent.

Upper body brown; with large dark grey to black spots and many small rosettes of pale dots; lower side with a row of dark, rounded spots, that inside the pectoral fin the most intensely colored spot; sexually active males sometimes covered with red or orange spots about 1 mm in diameter.

Size: 26 cm.

Habitat: demersal on soft bottoms in bays and estuaries in hypo- and hypersaline waters.

Depth: 1-20 m.

The Carolinas to northern Brazil.