Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Écologie
marin; saumâtre récifal; profondeur ? - 48 m (Ref. 9710). Subtropical; 42°N - 35°S, 98°W - 34°W
Western Atlantic to Southwest Atlantic: Rhode Island, USA to southeastern Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Taille / Poids / Âge
Maturity: Lm 10.8 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 38.8 cm TL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 26340); common length : 20.0 cm TL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 3821); poids max. publié: 400.00 g (Ref. 5217)
Épines dorsales (Total) : 0; Rayons mous dorsaux (Total) : 11 - 12; Épines anales: 0; Rayons mous anaux: 11. Greenish above, pale yellow to white below; back has series of pale lines and arcs suggesting concentric circles with intersecting lines. No other puffer has this color pattern (Ref. 26938).
Commonly found in bays, tidal creeks and protected coastal waters, especially on seagrass beds, and in brackish water. Rare or absent on coral reefs. Does not form schools, but may form huge aggregates. Hides in the sand when frightened (Ref. 9710). Feeds mainly on bivalves, gastropods, foraminiferans and several other benthic invertebrates specially crustaceans, which it crushes with its powerful teeth (Ref. 35237). To ward off predators, it inflates itself like a balloon. Highly toxic; used to poison cats and dogs (Ref. 2861).
Spawning season is from late spring to early fall at Biscayne Bay, Florida. Mean length at first maturity is over 13 cm TL.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
Statut dans la liste rouge de l'IUCN (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Menace pour l'homme
Poisonous to eat (Ref. 3821)
Utilisations par l'homme
Pêcheries: sans intérêt
Outils
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Sources Internet
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 22.9 - 28, mean 25.6 °C (based on 472 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02089 (0.01739 - 0.02511), b=2.93 (2.88 - 2.98), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Niveau trophique (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.41 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 2.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Résilience (Ref.
120179): Faible, temps minimum de doublement de population : 4,5 à 14 années (K=0.51; rel. fec=1.146 eggs/ g body weight).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (22 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 32.1 [11.0, 104.4] mg/100g; Iron = 0.721 [0.352, 1.490] mg/100g; Protein = 19.9 [17.7, 22.1] %; Omega3 = 0.248 [0.115, 0.488] g/100g; Selenium = 17.2 [7.6, 39.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 29.4 [8.7, 102.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.919 [0.596, 1.423] mg/100g (wet weight);
