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Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
OCEAN PUFFER
Blue Blaasop; Oceanic Pufferfish; Pelagic Toadfish; Tamboril; Tetraodon lagocephalus Linnaeus, 1758; Oceanic Puffer

Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Tetraodontidae   Lagocephalus



Lagocephalus lagocephalus
© Copyright Photographer/SFTEP, 2002 · 0
Lagocephalus lagocephalus

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Overview
Main identification features Body elongate; mouth small, beak projecting; nasal organ consists of 2 holes on side of snout; dorsal (13-15) and anal (11-13) fins pointed; pectoral 13-16; body smooth except for small spines from chin to anus and on belly; tail base slender; tail fin slightly concave, lower lobe longer.

Upper body and head dark green, brownish grey or dark blue; flanks silver with black spots; white belly; fins dark, lower 1/3 of pectoral white.

Size: 61 cm.

Habitat: pelagic, oceanic, but may enter estuaries.

Depth: 0-20 m.

CIrcumtropical; California to Ecuador (except for the Gulf of California) and the oceanic islands.


Attributes

Abundance: Common.

Cites: Not listed.

Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos); Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo).

Depth Range Max: 20 m.

Depth Range Min: 0 m.

Diet: Pelagic crustacea; zooplankton; octopus/squid/cuttlefish.

Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=41; Southern limit=-3; Western limit=-124; Eastern limit=-78; Latitudinal range=44; Longitudinal range=46.

Egg Type: Benthic; Pelagic larva.

Feeding Group: Planktivore.

FishBase Habitat: Bentho-Pelagic.

Global Endemism: Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans); East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West); Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America); East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West); All Pacific (West + Central + East); TEP non-endemic; "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific); All species.

Habitat: Water column; Estuary.

Inshore Offshore: Offshore; Offshore Only.

IUCN Red List: Not evaluated / Listed.

Length Max: 61 cm.

Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; Eastern Pacific non-endemic; All species.

Residency: Resident.

Salinity: Marine; Brackish.

Water Column Position: Water column only; Near Surface; Mid Water;

Names
Scientific source:
Links to other sites


References
  • Béarez, P., 1996., Lista de los Peces Marinos del Ecuador Continental., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 44:731-741.
  • Castro-Aguirre , J. L. , Balart , E. F. and Arvizu-Martínez, J., 1995., Contribución al conocimiento del origen y distribución de la ictiofauna del Golfo de California, México., Hidrobiologica, 5:57-78.
  • Castro-Aguirre, J.L. and Balart, E.F., 2002., La ictiofauna de las islas Revillagigedos y sus relaciones zoogeograficas, con comentarios acerca de su origen y evolucion. En: Lozano-Vilano, M. L. (Ed.). Libro Jubilar en Honor al Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas., Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León:153-170.
  • Eschmeyer , W. N. , Herald , E. S. and Hamman, H., 1983., A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California. Peterson Field Guide Ser. 28., Houghton Mifflin:336pp.
  • Findley, L.T., Hendrickx, M.E., Brusca, R.C., van der Heiden, A.M., Hastings, P.A., Torre, J., 2003., Diversidad de la Macrofauna Marina del Golfo de California, Mexico., CD-ROM versión 1.0. Projecto de la Macrofauna del Golfo .  Derechos reservados de los autores y Conservación Internacional.
  • Fischer , W. , Krup , F. , Schneider , W. , Sommer , C. , Carpenter , K. E. and Niem, V. H., 1995., Guia FAO para la Identificacion de Especies de para los fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. Volumen III. Vertebrados - Parte 2., FAO3:1201-1813.
  • Fowler, H.W., 1944., Results of the Fifth George Vanderbilt Expedition (1941) (Bahamas, Caribbean sea, Panama, Galapagos Archipelago and Mexican Pacific Islands). The Fishes., Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel., Monographs, 6:57-529.
  • Grove , J.S. and Lavenberg, R. J., 1997., The fishes of the Galápagos islands., Stanford University Press:863 pp.
  • Jimenez-Prado, P., Béarez, P., 2004., Peces marinos del Ecuador continental / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador., SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA tomo 1 y 2.
  • Linnaeus, C., 1758., Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae., Systema Nat. ed. 10, 1:1-824.
  • Lopez , M. I. and Bussing, W. A., 1982., Lista provisional de los peces marinos de la Costa Rica., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 30(1):5-26.
  • Love, M.S., Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., Thorsteinson, L.K., 2005., es of the West Coast and Alaska: a checklist of North Pacific and Artic Ocena species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border., U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, 288pp.
  • Van der Heiden , A. M. and Findley, L. T., 1988., Lista de los peces marinos del sur de Sinaloa, México., Anales del Centro de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia de la Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico, 15:209-224.
  • Walker, B. W. and Baldwin, W. J., 1964., Provisional check list of fishes of the Revillagigedo islands., 18 pp.


Acknowledgements

I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.


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