The slender-spined porcupine fish or globefish''Melbourne's Wildlife'' (Museum Victoria, 2006), 324. (''Diodon nicthemerus'') is a porcupinefish of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Diodontidae, found in the waters of southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, as far north as

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...

to Geraldton, Western Australia. It is most common in Port Phillip Bay and the coastal waters of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in shallow coastal waters and under manmade jetties. It is known to occur at a depth range of 1 to 70 m (3 to 230 ft). ''Diodon nicthemerus'' is similar in appearance and size to the three-bar porcupinefish ('' Dicotylichthys punctulatus''), with both species reaching around 40 cm (15.7 inches) in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

, although patterning and morphology can differentiate the two. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, occasionally forms small groups, and feeds on

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...

. It possesses slender yellow spines used for defence against predators and has the ability to inflate its body so its sharp spines protrude when alarmed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2529941 slender-spined porcupine fish Marine fish of Southern Australia slender-spined porcupine fish slender-spined porcupine fish