Common name : Guineafowl puffer, White-spotted puffer
Scientific name : Arothron meleagris
Family : Tetraodontidae
Native to : Indian and Pacific Oceans
Interesting fact : Sharks are the only species that can eat pufferfish without any side-effects to their toxin.
Conservation status : Least Concern
Pufferfish can quickly ingest water and enlarge into a balloon for defence. More than 120 species are known. They have thick, rough skins with small spines that stand out when they inflate. Their teeth are fused into plates for crushing the shells of crustaceans, snails, sea urchins and molluscs. They contain lethal doses of tetrodotoxin that can kill humans.
