A study of the green pufferfish ( Tetraodon fluviatilis) noted that the spinules erect through invaginations in the epidermis and remain covered by a thin layer of loose connective tissue rich in blood capillaries, subsequently concluding that this creates a thin gas diffusion pathway which may allow for significant cutaneous respiration while inflated. With this in mind, it has been proposed that cutaneous respiration may play a compensatory role for pufferfishes during inflation. hypoxaemia) may ultimately set the maximum duration of the inflation response. If these reports are accurate, it can be speculated that an oxygen limitation (i.e. Indeed, the opercula openings of the obscure pufferfish ( Takifugu obscurus) have been reported to remain closed throughout the inflation period, while the long-spined porcupinefish ( Diodon holocanthus, a close relative of the pufferfishes and a member of the tetraodontid sister family Diodontidae) has been described as ‘appearing to hold its breath’ once inflated. Interestingly, reports in the scientific literature suggest that pufferfish inflation may be a breath-holding response, whereby oxygen uptake and waste excretion across the gills are interrupted for the duration of the inflation event (which can last tens of minutes). ![]() Īs a non-evasive form of defence, the success of the puffing response relies upon the capacity of the pufferfish to remain inflated for longer than the attention span of the would-be predator. The final result is a spiny ball that can be three- to four-times the resting volume of the fish and not easily ingested. The inflation response is made possible through rapid gulping of water into a distensible stomach, which stretches the exceptionally elastic skin and promotes the erection of small spinules embedded in the dermis. While pufferfish flesh contains one of the most potent toxins known to science, the common name for this group of fishes stems from their remarkable and iconic ability to ‘puff’ themselves into a large ball when threatened. When considering the vast suite of adaptations that exist in the animal kingdom to avoid predation, it is difficult to overlook the impressive repertoire of the pufferfishes (family Tetraodontidae).
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