The northern puffer, ''Sphoeroides maculatus'', is a species in the family
Tetraodontidae
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfis ...
, or pufferfishes, found along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Unlike many other pufferfish species, the flesh of the northern puffer is not poisonous (its
viscera
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
can contain poison).
[ They are commonly called sugar toads in the ]Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
region, where they are eaten as a delicacy, it can even be eaten raw as long as its meat is properly cleaned.[On the Water: Chicken of the Sea]
/ref>
Description
The northern puffer is a club-shaped fish with a gray, brown, or olive back and a yellow or white belly.[Chesapeake Bay Program]
/ref>
Adults have small spines covering the entire body with a tiny beak-like mouth. Its color is poorly defined black/dark green spots and saddles and a yellow to white belly. It has tiny jet-black pepper spots (about 1 mm in diameter) scattered over most of pigmented surface, particularly evident on cheeks. Lower sides of the body have a row of black, elongate, bar-like markings. A small dorsal fin is set far back near the tail. ''Sphoeroides maculatus'', like others in the puffer family, "puffs up" into a ball in self-defense by inhaling water into a special chamber near its stomach. They will puff up with air, if taken out of the water. The northern puffer reaches up to in length, but is usually around .[
]
Habitat
The northern puffer inhabits bays, estuaries and protected coastal waters at depths of in the northwest Atlantic.[ It ranges from ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
(U.S.) to Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
(Canada).[
]
Diet
The northern puffer feeds primarily on shellfish
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environ ...
, and occasionally on finfish. Using its beak-like mouth it can extract shellfish from their shells and sometimes break the shells to obtain a meal
A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal.
Although they c ...
. They will attack blue crabs, blowing water underneath to turn the crab over, then attack the underside before it can right itself.
Life cycle
Little is known about the life cycle of the northern puffer. They spawn from May through August in shallow, nearshore waters. The female lays adhesive eggs that attach to the sandy or muddy bottom, and the male guards the eggs until they hatch.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Puffer
Tetraodontidae
Fish described in 1801