Brackish Puffer from South Western India

[Channabarca]

Hi Friends,

I received two of these lovely puffers from a friend who collected the same from Aranthodu near Sullia town, Dakshin Kannada District of Karnataka State in South Western India. The place where collected is almost 200 km upstream from the coast and salinity is nil. The specimen featured here is 12 cm. For the record let's call it "Yellow Spots".

Can anyone give a positive id and please do notice the dog like face which is evident from one of the pics. Will take more head shots to aid in the id.

I must mention here that all photo credits in this and the previous thread are due to my very good friend Nilanjan Mukherjee aka Banjohead.

[xrayjeeper83]

youve got some awesome fish

[Pufferpunk]

This fish looks like a species of Tetraodon, like our common green spotted puffer, Tetraodon nigroviridis or closely related to the T sabahensis.
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/?g2_GALLE ... a748c1f2fe
How big is it?

[Corvus]

Martin Hi. and I wrote an article on this species, since a number of them was imported to Germany. We think it's a Chelonodon, where the species name has not been clarified yet. A lot of scientific work is waiting within this genus! Until that, you won't get a proper name. The specimens which came to Germany looked exactly like your puffer, however some were caught in high brackish to marine water near Mumbai.

[Pufferpunk]

Really? I thought it more resemble the Tetraodons.

[pufferpuggirl]

Very cool to see some puffers that don't even have a proper name yet.

(please tell Banjohead that he takes EXCELLENT photographs!)

[jus85411]

very cool! looks like a GSP but has two markings up top like a ceylon and different base color! i really like this puff

[Corvus]

Really? I thought it more resemble the Tetraodons.

No, much more likely a Chelonodon... it's easier to see with several pictures of various specimens or maybe best with the puffer in front of you.

A good character on the genus level are the narines/nostrils that don't look like those of T. nigroviridis and similar Asian species, but like those of a typical Chelonodon:

http://m1083.biohostnet.de/index.php?id ... ureView]=2

[Channabarca]

Very cool to see some puffers that don't even have a proper name yet. True

(please tell Banjohead that he takes EXCELLENT photographs!)

Banjohead reciprocates your appreciation

[Channabarca]

One more pic of the head almost clearly showing the elongated snout from the eyes and this feature is not evident among Chelonodon species which at most can be called oval their general shape that is.

[Corvus]

Head shape is not a diagnostic character (just have alook how many different head shapes are seen in the Monotrete genus), the narines/norstrils however are a diagnostic trait on the genus level.

[Channabarca]

Head shape is not a diagnostic character (just have alook how many different head shapes are seen in the Monotrete genus), the narines/norstrils however are a diagnostic trait on the genus level.

With all due respect Corvus, those are just abstract mumblings. Can you be more specific how diagnostic a trait are the narines / nostrils on the geni level ?

[Corvus]

Check the genus and species descriptions in the original publications (available in almost any university library, start with Hamilton Buchanan, 1822) and continue to younger works to get all the details.

Most puffer genera recognized today are based on the general type of nostrils/narines. Compare the nostrils of your mystery puffer to those of the Chelonodon linked to above and you'll find similarity (two long, pointed flaps on a short base). Compare them to Asian Tetraodon such as T. fluviatilis or nigroviridis and you'll see they have different nostrils (longer stem and oval flaps).

General morphological features such as "Head shape" are constant within a species, but not within a genus.

[Troender]

I always love listening to you Corvus. There's always something to learn! BTW, I've realized where you've got your nickname from. I was reading about birds a few days ago.

[Channabarca]

Check the genus and species descriptions in the original publications (available in almost any university library, start with Hamilton Buchanan, 1822) and continue to younger works to get all the details.

Most puffer genera recognized today are based on the general type of nostrils/narines. Compare the nostrils of your mystery puffer to those of the Chelonodon linked to above and you'll find similarity (two long, pointed flaps on a short base). Compare them to Asian Tetraodon such as T. fluviatilis or nigroviridis and you'll see they have different nostrils (longer stem and oval flaps).

General morphological features such as "Head shape" are constant within a species, but not within a genus.

Thanks very much Corvus, that's solid taxonomic guidelines. Luckily, I am from Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) and this is the HQ of the ZSI, Zoological Survey of India which houses a massive collection of preserved material on both fw and bw/marine species. Moreover, the ZSI library is one of the best in Asia. I'll take up your advise and will gradually make my way down to recent works on this fascinating subject.

In the meantime let's continue our search on the web or other sources on what 'Yello Spots' could actually be. Thank You.