diff types of porcupine puffer

The forum for those beautiful marine puffers!
Post Reply
pinkspid3r
Puffer Fry
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:36 pm
Location (country): Singapore

diff types of porcupine puffer

Post by pinkspid3r »

Hi people,

just curious is there different types of porcupine puffer? because after looking at some pics and videos. i realise there are 2 types that differ in color. 1 is the usual brown with patches, the other type is very yellow looking. Are they both easily available?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzXcml3v ... re=related (yellow 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6msgQFXOhrk (the brown 1)

Thank You =)
User avatar
J-P
Former Staff Member
Posts: 5626
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:21 am
Gender: Male
Location (country): Japan
Location: Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan

Re: diff types of porcupine puffer

Post by J-P »

fish base reports 49 different "Diodon" species. I am sure some of those are double entries but that is still a lot.

Check these out:
http://www.fishbase.org and search under "Genus"

Allomycterus (3 entries)
Chilomycterus (17 entries)
Cyclichthys (8 entries)
Tragulichthys (1 entry)

As you can see some entries are double and even triple entries, but that is a lot of different spiky little guys out there :)
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
RTR
Mentor
Posts: 6155
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:39 pm
Gender: Male
Location (country): East Coast, USA

Re: diff types of porcupine puffer

Post by RTR »

Even if you limit to D. hystrix and D. holocanthus, both species are circumpolar. Local non-trivial variations all but have to occur for non-pelagic schooling, not strong swimming fish. It is no surprise that there are many duplicate erroneous names. I mean really - If Linnaeus could not clearly differentiate those two species, what hope is there for the rest of us? ;)
Where's the fish? - Neptune
pinkspid3r
Puffer Fry
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:36 pm
Location (country): Singapore

Re: diff types of porcupine puffer

Post by pinkspid3r »

Thanks for the link.

But the list is really overwhelming, i did not expect to see there are so many different kind of species. Too overwhelming. Thought there would be some simpler answer to the brown and yellow porcupine puffer. And i was quite puzzled after reading a book that state porcupine fish and puffer are different. But they categorise porcupine puffer under porcupine fish. And i happen to chance upon this interesting fish, common porcupine fish. Is this consider puffer or porcupine?

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/ ... -4_big.jpg
User avatar
Flutter
Former Staff Member
Posts: 2938
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:43 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: diff types of porcupine puffer

Post by Flutter »

Porcupine puffers are under the family diodontidae. Puffers are under the family tetraodontidae. Both are under the order tetraodontiformes.

They're relatively closely related and both are the only fish to experience true puffing so they are both puffers. Porcs just aren't the "true" puffers.
It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
Charles Darwin
Post Reply