About Sphoeroides testudineus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The checkered puffer, Sphoeroides testudineus, is a fish species in the family Tetraodontidae, a name that means "four teeth". Puffers have four tooth plates arranged in quadrants, with two on the bottom jaw and two on the top jaw. These teeth form a strong, heavy beak that can crack through hard prey including mollusks, crustaceans, sipunculids, and tunicates; the species also feeds on seagrass and detritus. Puffers get their common name from their ability to swell up by swallowing water or air when they feel threatened. They lack a spinous dorsal fin, have absent or reduced scales, sandpapery denticles across various areas of their body, and a reduced gill opening. Species identification for puffers is partially based on body color, patterning, the presence and number of spines, and the presence of fleshy skin tabs called lappets. The checkered puffer has a base body color ranging from pale tan to yellowish, marked with a polygonal or square network of dark gray to olive lines. This line pattern is centered on a bulls-eye pattern on the midback, in front of the dorsal fin. Small dark brown spots appear on the species' cheeks and lower sides. The abdomen is whitish and has no markings, and dark bands are present on the caudal fin. In terms of habitat and distribution, the checkered puffer's range extends from Rhode Island to Florida, and includes Bermuda, the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, and continues along the southeastern coasts of Brazil. It is commonly found in bays, seagrass beds, tidal creeks, and mangrove swamps, and can also move into freshwater areas. The checkered puffer is distributed throughout the IRL. Most populations are found living near seagrass beds and mangroves, though some individual fish also occur in rocky intertidal and hardbottom areas.
