Species: Sphoeroides pachygaster, Blunthead puffer
wide between eyes
Sphoeroides pachygaster (Muller & Troschel, 1848)
Blunthead puffer
Body oblong, thick, inflatable; head very blunt; wide between eyes; 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 9, anal rays 8-9; pectoral 12-15; no pelvic fins; no spines in the fins; tail fin edge bluntly straight to slightly concave, with 10 main rays; tough scaleless skin, no skin flaps or prickles on skin.
Uniform brown to grey above, fading to unpigmented below; with indistinct dark blotches and spots on flank.
Size: 46 cm.
Habitat: demersal on sand, mud and rocky bottoms.
Depth: 1-500 m, rarely above 100m.
Apparently circumglobal (except for the eastern Pacific); New Jersey to Argentina.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Sand & gravel
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Mud
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Rocks
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
-
- Data
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- Continent only
- Extends North of GC
- Continent
- Extends South of GC
- Also in Brazil
- GC non-endemic
- Extends N + S of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 46
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 500
