Pufferfish are poor swimmers, but can quickly ingest huge amounts of water to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.
Photograph by Chris Laughlin/Animals Animals-Earth Scenes
Map
Pufferfish Range
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Fish
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Size:
- Up to 3 ft (1 m)
- Group name:
- School
- Did you know?
- Some predators, such as tiger sharks and sea snakes, are unbothered by the pufferfish’s natural toxins.
- Size relative to a tea cup:
-
Biologists think pufferfish, also known as blowfish, developed their famous “inflatability” because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to make them even less palatable.
A predator that manages to snag a puffer before it inflates won’t feel lucky for long. Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to fish. To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.
Amazingly, the meat of some pufferfish is considered a delicacy. Called fugu in Japan, it is extremely expensive and only prepared by trained, licensed chefs who know that one bad cut means almost certain death for a customer. In fact, many such deaths occur annually.
There are more than 120 species of pufferfish worldwide. Most are found in tropical and subtropical ocean waters, but some species live in brackish and even fresh water. They have long, tapered bodies with bulbous heads. Some wear wild markings and colors to advertise their toxicity, while others have more muted or cryptic coloring to blend in with their environment.
They range in size from the 1-inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) dwarf or pygmy puffer to the freshwater giant puffer, which can grow to more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) in length. They are scaleless fish and usually have rough to spiky skin. All have four teeth that are fused together into a beak-like form.
The diet of the pufferfish includes mostly invertebrates and algae. Large specimens will even crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish with their hard beaks. Poisonous puffers are believed to synthesize their deadly toxin from the bacteria in the animals they eat.
Some species of pufferfish are considered vulnerable due to pollution, habitat loss, and overfishing, but most populations are considered stable.
Other Tropical Fish
Fish Features
-
Megafishes Photos
View photos of the world's largest freshwater fish fighting for survival, as pollution, overfishing, and construction threaten the rivers and lakes they call home.
-
All About the Ocean
Explore and discover the world's oceans like never before with facts, photos, news, video, and more!
-
Great White Shark Pictures
See close-ups of great white sharks lurking, hunting, and attacking. Download desktop wallpapers of these amazing, often misunderstood predators.
-
Eels Photo Gallery
The freshwater eel is one of the few fishes to spawn in the ocean and spend its adulthood in lakes, rivers, and estuaries.
Animals
-
Aardvark
-
Adélie Penguin
-
African Elephant
-
African Lion
-
African Wild Dog
-
Albatross
-
Alligator Snapping Turtle
-
Amazon Horned Frog
-
American Alligator
-
American Bison
-
American Bullfrog
-
American Crocodile
-
Ammonite
-
Andean Condor
-
Anglerfish
-
Ankylosaurus Magniventris
-
Ant
-
Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
-
Arctic Fox
-
Arctic Hare
-
Arctic Skua
-
Armadillo
-
Asian Elephant
-
Asian Lion
-
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
-
Atlantic Puffin
-
Aye-Aye
-
Baboon
-
Bactrian Camel
-
Bald Eagle
-
Baltimore Oriole
-
Beaver
-
Beluga Whale
-
Bengal Tiger
-
Bird of Paradise
-
Black Bear
-
Black-Footed Ferret
-
Black Mamba
-
Black Rhinoceros
-
Blacktip Shark
-
Black Widow Spider
-
Bluebird
-
Blue Crab
-
Blue-Footed Booby
-
Blue Jay
-
Blue Marlin
-
Blue Whale
-
Boa Constrictor
-
Bobcat
-
Bottlenose Dolphin
-
Box Jellyfish
-
Brachychampsa Montana
-
Brown Bear
-
Bull Shark
-
Burmese Python
-
Butterflyfish
-
California Condor
-
California Sea Lion
-
Canada Goose
-
Cane Toad
-
Canvasback
-
Caribou
-
Carolina Wren
-
Cheetah
-
Chimpanzee
-
Chipmunk
-
Cicada
-
Clouded Leopard
-
Clown Anemonefish
-
Coelacanth
-
Common Earthworm
-
Common Loon
-
Common Octopus
-
Common Sandpiper
-
Common Vampire Bat
-
Common Wombat
-
Coral
-
Cottontail Rabbit
-
Coyote
-
Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
-
Cuban Screech Owl
-
Cubera Snapper
-
Deer Tick
-
Devil Frog
-
Dingo
-
Dog Snapper
-
Dolichorhynchops Osborni
-
Domestic Cat
-
Domestic Dog
-
Draco Lizard
-
Dugong
-
Eastern Coral Snake
-
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
-
Eastern Gray Kangaroo
-
Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
-
Electric Eel
-
Elephant Seal
-
Elk
-
Emperor Penguin
-
Fennec Fox
-
Firefly (Lightning Bug)
-
Flying Fish
-
Flying Snake
-
Fossa
-
Frilled Lizard
-
Fur Seal
-
Galápagos Tortoise
-
Gelada
-
Gentoo Penguin
-
Geographic Cone Snail
-
Giant Anteater
-
Giant Clam
-
Giant Pacific Octopus
-
Giant Panda
-
Giant River Otter
-
Giant Squid
-
Gibbon
-
Gila Monster
-
Giraffe
-
Golden Cowrie
-
Golden Eagle
-
Golden Jellyfish
-
Golden Lion Tamarin
-
Golden Poison Dart Frog
-
Gray Whale
-
Great Blue Heron
-
Great Egret
-
Greater Flamingo
-
Greater Rhea
-
Great Horned Owl
-
Great White Shark
-
Green Anaconda
-
Green Basilisk Lizard
-
Green-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Green Iguana
-
Green Sea Turtle
-
Grizzly Bear
-
Groundhog
-
Hammerhead Shark
-
Harbor Porpoise
-
Harp Seal
-
Hawaiian Monk Seal
-
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
-
Hedgehog
-
Henodus Chelyops
-
Hesperornis Regalis
-
Hippopotamus
-
Honeybee
-
Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
-
Hornet
-
Horse
-
Howler Monkey
-
Humpback Whale
-
Impala
-
Indian Rhinoceros
-
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
-
Jackrabbit
-
Jaguar
-
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Killer Whale (Orca)
-
King Cobra
-
King Vulture
-
Kinkajou
-
Koala
-
Komodo Dragon
-
Krill
-
Ladybug
-
Laughing Kookaburra
-
Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
-
Leatherback Sea Turtle
-
Leopard
-
Leopard Seal
-
Leptoceratops Gracilis
-
Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
-
Lionfish
-
Little Red Flying-Fox
-
Llama
-
Lobster
-
Locust
-
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
-
Lynx
-
Macaw
-
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
-
Mallard Duck
-
Manatee
-
Mandrill
-
Marine Iguana
-
Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
-
Meerkat
-
Meller's Chameleon
-
Mexican Axolotl
-
Mola (Sunfish)
-
Mole Rat
-
Monarch Butterfly
-
Mongoose
-
Mononykus Olecranus
-
Moose
-
Mosquito
-
Mountain Goat
-
Mountain Gorilla
-
Mountain Lion
-
Mouse Lemur
-
Mudpuppy
-
Musk-Ox
-
Narwhal
-
Nile Crocodile
-
North American River Otter
-
Northern Leopard Frog
-
Nudibranch
-
Nurse Shark
-
Nutria
-
Ocelot
-
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
-
Opossum
-
Orangutan
-
Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
-
Osprey
-
Ostrich
-
Oyster
-
Ozark Big-Eared Bat
-
Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
-
Parrot
-
Parrot Fish
-
Peacock
-
Pelican
-
Peregrine Falcon
-
Pileated Woodpecker
-
Platecarpus
-
Platypus
-
Poison Dart Frog
-
Polar Bear
-
Porcupine
-
Portuguese Man-of-War
-
Prairie Dog
-
Praying Mantis
-
Proboscis Monkey
-
Pronghorn
-
Protosphyraena
-
Protostega Gigas
-
Przewalski's Horse
-
Pufferfish
-
Queen Angelfish
-
Quetzal
-
Raccoon
-
Rainbow Trout
-
Raven
-
Red Crab
-
Red-Eyed Tree Frog
-
Red-Footed Booby
-
Red Fox
-
Red Kangaroo
-
Red Leaf Monkey
-
Red Panda
-
Red-Tailed Hawk
-
Red Uakari
-
Rhesus Monkey
-
Right Whale
-
Ringed Seal
-
Ring-Necked Pheasant
-
Ring-Tailed Lemur
-
Rockhopper Penguin
-
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
-
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
-
Sailfish
-
Saltwater Crocodile
-
Sandhill Crane
-
Sand Tiger Shark
-
Scarab
-
Scorpion
-
Sea Anemone
-
Sea Cucumber
-
Seahorse
-
Sea Otter
-
Siberian Tiger
-
Sifaka
-
Skunk
-
Sloth Bear
-
Snow Goose
-
Snow Leopard
-
Snowshoe Hare
-
Snowy Owl
-
Sockeye Salmon
-
Spectacled Bear
-
Sperm Whale
-
Spider Monkey
-
Spotted Hyena
-
Spotted Salamander
-
Spring Peeper
-
Squirrel
-
Starfish (Sea Star)
-
Steller Sea Lion
-
Steller's Sea Eagle
-
Stick Insect
-
Stingray
-
Styxosaurus Snowii
-
Sumatran Rhinoceros
-
Sun Bear
-
Tapir
-
Tarantula
-
Tasmanian Devil
-
Thescelosaurus Neglectus
-
Thick-Billed Murre
-
Thomson's Gazelle
-
Three-Toed Sloth
-
Tiger Salamander
-
Tiger Shark
-
Toucan
-
Triceratops Horridus
-
Triggerfish
-
Troodon Formosus
-
Tundra Swan
-
Tusotheuthis Longa
-
Two-Toed Sloth
-
Tylosaurus Proriger
-
Tyrannosaurus Rex
-
Velociraptor Mongoliensis
-
Wallaby
-
Wallace's Flying Frog
-
Walrus
-
Warthog
-
Warty Newt
-
Wasp
-
Water Buffalo
-
Web-Footed Gecko
-
Weddell Seal
-
Western Lowland Gorilla
-
Whale Shark
-
White-Eared Kob
-
White Rhinoceros
-
White-Tailed Deer
-
Whooping Crane
-
Wildebeest
-
Wild Turkey
-
Wolf
-
Wolverine
-
Wood Stork
-
Xiphactinus Audax
-
Zebra
Advertisement
The Innovators Project
-
Alan Guth: Waiting for the Big Bang
Three decades ago, the innovative physicist had a eureka moment that explained the universe.
Special Ad Section
Animal News
From the Magazine
-
Gannets Pictures
Champion divers but clumsy landers, doting parents but hostile neighbors—northern gannets abound in contradictions.
-
Estonia's Ural Owls
Photographer Sven Začek provides an intimate view of this large raptor.