No photo available
Spotted porcupinefish
Diodon hystrix
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Spotted porcupinefish
- Scientific
- Diodon hystrix
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 91 cm (total length); commonly 40 cm; max. published weight 2.8 kg
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 2 to 50 m (usually 3 to 20 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2011
Description
A large porcupinefish, greyish tan covered with small black spots and long, sharp spines that lie flat until the fish inflates itself with water. It has big eyes and fused beak-like teeth that crush sea urchins, snails and hermit crabs. It rests in caves and under ledges by day and forages at night. Its organs contain tetrodotoxin and it should not be eaten.
In the Maldives
Commonly seen resting in holes and under overhangs on Maldivian reefs.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Diodon-hystrix.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Pez_erizo_moteado_(Diodon_hystrix),_islas_Ad_Dimaniyat,_Omá
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.