Cyclichthys
Encyclopedia
Members of the family diodontidae, species of the genus Cyclicthys are usually known as swelltoads.
They differ from the porcupinefishes (genus Diodon
), which have moveable spines.
Distinguishing features
Fish of the genus Cyclicthys have;- three-rooted, rigid spines (actually modified scales) distributed over their bodies.
- beak-like jaws, used to crush their hard-shelled prey (crustaceanCrustaceanCrustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s and molluscs).
They differ from the porcupinefishes (genus Diodon
Diodon
Members of the diodontidae, species of the genus diodon are usually known as porcupinefishes or balloonfishes.-Distinguishing features:Fish of the genus Diodon have;...
), which have moveable spines.
Defensive Mechanisms
- Like Tetraodontidae (a.k.a; Blowfish) they have the ability to inflate themselves. Their inflated size combined with their spines make them extremely difficult to swallow.
- They may be poisonous, through the accumulation of tetrodotoxinTetrodotoxinTetrodotoxin, also known as "tetrodox" and frequently abbreviated as TTX, sometimes colloquially referred to as "zombie powder" by those who practice Vodou, is a potent neurotoxin with no known antidote. There have been successful tests of a possible antidote in mice, but further tests must be...
or ciguateraCiguateraCiguatera is a foodborne illness caused by eating certain reef fishes whose flesh is contaminated with toxins originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus toxicus which lives in tropical and subtropical waters. These dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they are...
.
Species
- Hardenburg's burrfish, Cyclichthys hardenbergi (de Beaufort, 1939)
- Birdbeak burrfish, Cyclichthys orbicularis (Bloch, 1785)
- Spotbase burrfishSpotbase burrfishAlso known as the yellowspotted burrfish.-Range:Red Sea to South Africa and east to southern Japan, the Philippines, Australia and New Caledonia. Also found around the Galapagos Islands and in the Mediterranean.-Description:...
, Cyclichthys spilostylus (Leis & Randall, 1982)