Burrfish

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Burrfish

The burrfish or spiny Boxfish
Boxfish

The boxfishes are a family, Ostraciidae, of squared, Actinopterygii belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes....
(Chilomycterus schoepfi) is a member of the porcupinefish

Porcupinefish

Porcupinefish are fish of the family Diodontidae, , also commonly called blowfish .They are sometimes confused with pufferfish....
family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Diodontidae.

s distinguished from the porcupinefish

Porcupinefish

Porcupinefish are fish of the family Diodontidae, , also commonly called blowfish .They are sometimes confused with pufferfish....
by the shorter, less sharply pointed, and immovable spines

Spine (zoology)

A spine is a hard, thorny or needle-like structure which occurs on various animals. Animals such as porcupines and sea urchins grow spines as a self-defense mechanism....
which cover the somewhat spherical body. It can inflate its body by taking either air or water into a ventral extension of the stomach

Stomach

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Burrfish'

Start a new discussion about 'Burrfish'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Porcupinefish

Porcupinefish are fish of the family Diodontidae, , also commonly called blowfish .They are sometimes confused with pufferfish....
family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Diodontidae.

Description

It is distinguished from the porcupinefish

Porcupinefish

Spine (zoology)

Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
. Its color is olivaceous or brownish above and pale yellow below. The back and sides are irregularly striped with brownish, dusky, or black lines which are parallel to each other and which run obliquely downward. There are several large black spots on the sides, one just below the dorsal fin, and another behind the pectoral fin. Its maximum size is about 10 inches.

Distribution

It is found mostly in the tropics

Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
from the West Indies to Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, and is found along the Atlantic coast, sometimes as far north as Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to as simply the Cape, is a peninsula in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States....
, and regularly during the late summer and fall in the vicinity of New York

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

Habitat

It spawns off New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
in July. Juveniles are also found in the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia....
in the summertime.

Diet

It feeds on invertebrates such as oysters, barnacles, mussels, small crabs, and hermit crab

Hermit crab

Hermit crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea . They are not closely related to true crabs. Hermit crabs are quite commonly seen in the intertidal zone, for example in tide pools....
s.

Fishing technique

It has no commercial value but is occasionally taken by fishermen and stuffed as curio

Curio

Curio may refer to:* Curio, Switzerland* Curio , a Japanese rock music* Curio , a predominantly glass cabinet with a metal or wood framework used to display collections of figurines...
. Some end up in the aquarium pet trade. It occasionally is killed in gill nets and then tossed back by the fishermen. It is often washed ashore along the beach and is a treacherous object if stepped on by mistake with bare feet. Other species of burr and porcupinefish are found in the tropics.