Sphoeroides_nephelus_(southern_pufferfish)_(Tampa_Bay,_Florida,_USA)_2.jpg
Summary
Description Sphoeroides nephelus (southern pufferfish) (Tampa Bay, Florida, USA) 2.jpg |
Sphoeroides nephelus (Goode & Bean, 1882) - southern pufferfish in Florida, USA. (December 2012) This individual was released back into the water. Pufferfish are famous for a peculiar anti-predator defensive behavior. When threatened, pufferfish significantly inflate their bodies. When "puffed", numerous dermal spines project outward. An inflated pufferfish poses a choking hazard to potential predators. Pufferfish also have one or more toxins in their bodies (e.g., tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin) that cause illness or death. Saxitoxin is not generated by the pufferfish body - it ultimately comes from Pyrodinium bahamense dinoflagellates. Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii, Teleostei, Tetraodontiformes, Tetraodontidae Locality: Bird Key Middle Ground West Beach (= Main Channel North Beach; = Cabbage Key-Pine Key North Beach) - sandy shoreline along the western side of Rt. 679, just north of Cabbage Key & Pine Key, northern side of Tampa Bay, south of city of St. Petersburg, Gulf of Mexico Coast of southern Florida, USA More info. at: www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Sphoeroides_nephelus.htm |
Date | Taken on 18 December 2012, 14:21 |
Source | Sphoeroides nephelus (southern pufferfish) (Tampa Bay, Florida, USA) 2 |
Author | James St. John |
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/25897631745 . It was reviewed on 9 March 2017 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
9 March 2017