puffer fish
Puffer Fish
The puffer fish is a unique creature with several distinctive features to its credit. What is even more fascinating is that a fish with so many characteristics can, at the same time, be very poisonous too.
- » Tetraodontidae is the scientific name of the puffer fish, which pertains to their four large-sized teeth that are fused together to form a lower and upper plate. They use these specialized teeth to crush the shells of mollusks and crustaceans, which are their natural sources of food.
- » The round plump body is one of its main distinguishing characteristics. Another unique feature of this fish is that its skin is thick and leathery, which has tiny spines instead of scales. These spines are set deeply into the pores. As long as the fish is not alarmed, the spines are not apparent. However, the moment it spies a predator, it immediately inflates itself making the spines erect. Although most species are 3 - 20 inches in size, some can even grow up to 3 feet in length. These species look quite incredible in the swollen state.
- » The puffer fish has a very ancient lineage. It is thought that it looked like the sunfish in the past. Eventually, it evolved to look like belonging to the perch family, particularly the surgeonfish; which are said to be the puffer's ancestors. This fish has a single dorsal fin, which is located opposite its anal fin. It uses these two fins to actively move around, as it does not have any pelvic fins.
- » It can inflate its body in just a few seconds by swallowing big gulps of water or air, which it usually does at the water's surface. The puffer fish is able to accomplish this incredible feat due to a sac attached to its intestines. It uses a kind of muscular valve to shut off its esophagus and stomach. Then it uses its specialized gills, which behave like a suction pump to fill up the sac. As it does not have any pelvic bones or ribs, it can expand itself to a great extent. However, to prevent itself from excessive bloating, the controls attached in its muscles help in regulating the expansion.
- » Once the body of the puffer fish is fully bloated, its predators can neither take a grip nor bite through the skin. In fact, it has been found that its tough body remains unscathed even after a grown man stands on it. It is difficult for the fish to expel air as compared to water, hence, it usually inflates its body with water instead of air, since it can expel water more easily. This happens when it releases the muscular valves, allowing the water to be ejected through the gills and mouth.