Tetraodon baileyi is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Tetraodon

Tetraodon

Tetraodon is the largest genus in the pufferfish family . Its 23 members have a wide distribution, from Africa to Southeast Asia...

, the largest genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the pufferfish

Pufferfish

Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

. T. baileyi are usually found in the rocky habitats, including rapids, of the Mekong

Mekong

The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....

 mainstream and its larger tropical freshwater tributaries.

Characteristics

T. baileyi grows to around 12 cm (4"-5") and can be identified by sparse, or dense, coverage of epidermal outgrowths or cirri on the head and body. The cirri tend to be more profuse in the juvenile state, becoming reduced or non-existent at higher ages. The abdomen is usually golden or orange, with no other markings. Like other pufferfish T. baileyi is scaleless.