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| Porcupinefish |
Porcupinefish are fishes of the family Diodontidae, also called blowfish, ballonfish and globefish and collectively referred to as pufferfish. They are medium to large sized fish, found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.
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| Balloonfish |
Porcupinefish have the ability to inflate their bodies by swallowing water or air. They can increase in size almost double which reduces the range of potential predators to those with only much larger mouths. A second defense mechanism is provided by the sharp spines which radiate outwards when the fish is inflated.
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| Porcupinefish |
Some species are poisonous, having a tetrodotoxin in their internal organs. This neurotoxin is at least 1,200 times more potent than cyanide. As a result of these three defenses, porcupinefish have few predators although adults are sometimes preyed upon by sharks and killer whales.
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