Pufferfish

[slitherbomb]

Caught this pufferfish with a net and was hoping someone can identify it?

 

[Tony Gill]

I would guess it's a Sphaeroides species, but I'm not sure which one. It looks a little like S. annulatus, but that's an eastern Pacific species and I assume yours was caught in Florida. It's probably an easy enough task to put a name on it, but I'm afraid I'm not that much help at the moment. My library is packed away in boxes while I move house, and I was unable to find much of use on the internet. (I suspect yours is a juvenile, and the keys and photos I managed to dig up referred to adult coloration.) I'll let you know if I have any luck.

Tony

 

[Tony Gill]

Sorry, not enough coffee in my system yet this morning: that should be Sphoeroides not Sphaeroides!

 

[Tony Gill]

Do a search on Sphoeroides testudineus and see if that looks like a match.

Tony

 

[slitherbomb]

Do a search on Sphoeroides testudineus and see if that looks like a match.

Tony

Thank you sooo much! That was exactly it.