Species: Sphoeroides yergeri, Speckled puffer

flank - many pale skin flaps

Sphoeroides yergeri Shipp, 1972
Speckled puffer
Body oblong, thick, inflatable; head moderately blunt; 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; no pelvic fins; no spines in the fins; tail fin edge bluntly straight, with 10 main rays; tough scaleless skin, flank with numerous skin flaps; prickles above and below on body and sometimes on sides.
Brown to grey above, paler below; upper head and body with small red-brown spots, often in rosettes; skin flaps on flank light colored; lower sides with many tiny black specks on a pale background.
Size: 12 cm.
Habitat: demersal on soft bottoms.
Depth: 1-64 m.
Belize to Colombia.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- Submerged vegetation
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Sea-stars/cucumbers/urchins
- Bony fishes
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Benthic
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Caribbean endemic
- GC endemic
- Continent
- All species..
- Continent only
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 12
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 64