Long-spine Porcupinefish

Tropical reef fish

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Identity card

Long-spine Porcupinefish

Scientific name:: Diodon holocanthus

Family:: Diodontidae

Class:: Actinopterygii

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Linnaeus, 1758

IUCN Status:: Least Concern

Distribution:: Circumtropical zone and warm temperate waters.

Habitat:: Down to a depth of 100 metres

Size:: The Long-spine Porcupinefish measures between 30 and 50 cm.

Diet:: Hard-shelled molluscs and crustaceans

This fish can be toxic to humans, it transmits ciguatera

The long-spine porcupinefish is used in Chinese medicine.
It feeds on hard-shelled molluscs and crustaceans that it crushes with its teeth fused into a powerful beak.

Where is the animal to be found?

The long-spine porcupinefish lives mainly at depths down to 100 metres, in various habitats such as reefs, sandy seabeds and seagrass beds.

How can it be recognised?

The long-spine porcupinefish can inflate its body with water and deploy its spines. It then turns into a bristly ball when it feels threatened, to protect itself from potential predators. It measures between 30 and 50 cm.

What is distinctive about it?

For long-spine porcupinefish, external breeding takes place after the males have gently pushed the females towards the surface of the water. The eggs are spherical and float. They hatch four days after fertilisation.