Diodon holocanthus

Diodontidae
Fine-spotted Porcupinefish, Balloon Porcupinefish, Balloonfish, Blotched Porcupinefish, Brown Porcupinefish, Freckled Porcupinefish, Hedgehog Fish, Long-spined Porcupinefish, Spiny Balloonfish, Spiny Porcupinefish, Spiny Puffer
  • Diodon holocanthus, Bonaire, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Diodon holocanthus, Bonaire, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Diodon holocanthus, Banda, Indonesia, Photo: Joe Shields
    Diodon holocanthus, Banda, Indonesia, Photo: Joe Shields
  • Diodon holocanthus, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
    Diodon holocanthus, NSW, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Distribution
Temperate Africa, Temperate Australasia, Temperate northern Atlantic, Temperate northern Pacific, Temperate South America, Tropical Atlantic/Caribbean, Tropical Eastern Pacific, Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Long, needle-like spines. Pale body with numerous small dark spots (except fins) and a few darker blotches.
Information
  • Max Size: 50 cm
  • Sea Temperature Range: 19.8-31.5°C
  • Depth: 2-200m
  • Habitat: Coral Reef, Soft sediment
  • Habitat Generalisation Index: 11.2
    Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here
Rarity
  • IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
  • Occurrence: Infrequent (6% of sites)
    Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
  • Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
    Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland
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