| Family: |
Tetraodontidae (Puffers), subfamily: Tetraodontinae |
| Max. size: |
80 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
demersal; freshwater; brackish; marine, non-migratory |
| Distribution: |
Northwest Pacific: western part of the Sea of Japan and the East China and Yellow seas northward to Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16-19; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 13-16; Vertebrae: 21-22. Body covered with prickles; presence of a large round black blotch edged with a white line on side just behind pectoral fin (Ref. 559). |
| Biology: |
Adults are found in inlet waters, occasionally entering brackish waters. Fingerlings are often seen in brackish river mouths (Ref. 58920). Move offshore with growth. Breed in the sea (Ref. 58920) from March to May; attach eggs to rocks in shingly areas at depths of around 20 m. Liver and ovaries extremely toxic, intestines slightly toxic; flesh, skin and testes not poisonous. Juveniles resemble Takifugu niphobles (Ref. 637). A prized food fish in Japan. Said to be commercially cultured in Japan at present. Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). One of the first vertebrates whose genome has been sequenced completely, 31,059 genes coding for 33,609 proteins (Ref. 58917). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 10 June 2011 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
poisonous to eat |
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